Last Kiss
by MadMooMe
Summary: In the shadows of Veronica and Logan's Epic story another romance was forming. Post and Pre Movie.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing in the Veronica Mars world and all this is done just for fun. **

* * *

**Reunion night.**

That dress! Talk about having to do a double take. But it was definitely her. Stood up on the balcony with Ronnie and that Wallace dude.

Dick felt his mouth grow dry and he quickly swallowed down the beer in his hand. Gia was wittering in his ear about some art exhibit downtown that was apparently the most amazing thing ever but Dick couldn't seem to concentrate. He'd only glimpsed Mac for a second but it was enough to feel his heart in his throat. The palpitations seemed to thud in time with the music. He got a grip on himself and managed to make some crude comment about nude paintings back to Gia, reassuring everyone that he was still the same one-dimensional guy he'd always been.

Dick by name! Dick by nature!

With his heartbeat regulated he took one last look up at the balcony, one more quick glance but she was gone, and it took almost all his strength to stop from stalking the room for her.

Then she was stood in front of him, Veronica glued to her side. Jeez, even after all these years that tiny blonde still terrified him. V begged him for the location of the bar and Dick bust-a-move revealing his concealed belt flask.

One well-timed pelvic thrust. Bam! A smooth move if ever there was one.

The wholly unimpressed reaction Dick received at what he had considered a genius piece of engineering, rolled off him like water off a ducks back. The club lights reflected off the flask's metal as he lifted the thing to his lips a took a sip. One eye on the brunette as the pair walked away.

It wasn't until they were all at Gia's after-party that Dick was overcome with the need to speak to her. He had a bit of a thing for Cindy Mackenzie. He always had done but nobody ever knew about it, except maybe Logan. That wasn't strictly true. Logan had only guessed his friend was into Mac. Dick had never confirmed it, then again he had never denied it either.

There was a fairly good vibe in the room. The sparsely furnished loft was perfect for a party. The music boomed, people danced, it was a place where memories were made.

Mac was dancing way across the room with her friends, really giving it her all. He covertly watched her move around in that black dress, the material hugging every curve of an unmistakably rocking body. To him Mac wasn't cute, she wasn't hot. Those were terms used to describe the plastic blondes he had surrounded himself with for years. What Cindy Mackenzie was, was downright sexy!

It was late in the evening when Dick finally made his move. Veronica had gone all 'Columbo' interrogating half the people in the room about that damn boat and Mac was alone pouring herself a colourful drink from the makeshift bar.

"Hey!"

She turned to see him, took a sip of her drink and smiled awkwardly back at him.

"I don't really dig chicks with short hair but you are totally rocking it" he said.

Smooth move number two.

She looked bemused by his comment and was quiet for a minute before eventually responding.

"Well you certainly know how to wear that suit, anyone might think you actually worked for a living"

Dick smiled. She may have been trying to insult him but all he heard in that comment was that she thought he looked good.

"I haven't seen you around much" he said desperate to fill a growing silence between them.

"Well, we don't exactly run with the same crowd" she curtly replied

Dick took a large gulp of beer. It wasn't going well, she didn't want to speak to him. Dick got shunned by girls on a regular basis, he knew the signs but it seemed to hurt more coming from her.

"Yeah I guess we don't" he sadly replied.

Dick had walked over to the bar because he just wanted to talk to her, it had been so long since they'd had hung out. They had seen each other in passing over the years. Down at the store, the coffee shop, at the gas station, but they hadn't actually spoken to each other since that night at the Neptune Grand when they almost….

Dick let that night way back when they were still at Hearst fill his memories for a second. He wondered if she had ever thought about it. He opened his mouth to ask her but was interrupted by a fast approaching Mini-Mars. The last thing he wanted to do was start round two with 'Murder-she-wrote' so he looked for his exit.

"Well, it was good to see you Mac" Dick quickly announced and felt his heart drop a little at the smile of relief she wore at being rescued by her friend.

Once again he watched the two women walk away.

* * *

Veronica had now been back in Neptune for about a month. Mac found she had been called upon to provide her 'special skills' about a dozen times in that period.

It was good to have her friend back.

Life was a hell of a lot more active with Veronica around. The girl was like a giant magnet. Attracting danger and drama wherever she walked. But that magnetic pull also dragged together people. The common elemental force surely being personal tragedy. That's what had happened last time round, Veronica Mars brought together people who really had no business being near each other.

For a start there was the whole Veronica and Logan thing. Those two had so many issues they could make a long running TV drama from it. Mac was happy that they had found each other again after all these years, but she had to wonder if this time they would actually make it work. The odds had never really been in their favour.

But their relationship as rocky as it was had brought her and Dick into the mix. Just being friends to the love birds meant that on occasion they would run into one another. Mac could honestly say that for most of her youth she never thought about Dick Casablancas in a romantic way. Sure, she could admit he was a good-looking guy, tall and more than willing to walk on the 'bad boy' side when the occasion arose.

On the surface what was there not to like?.

But then he would open that mouth of his and all other attractive qualities were blitzed by endless lines of thinly veiled insults. They often started with the phrase 'No offence but..' He had no respect for anyone and didn't seem to care what people thought of him.

It took a very long time for Mac to understand just why Logan stuck with him, but in the end she had started to see what Logan saw which lead Mac to the night when they almost….

Then Veronica had left for Stanford, disappeared almost over night from their lives and that magnetic connection that had forced them all together was broken. They all scattered in different directions, back to their own familiar surroundings.

9 years later, the magnet returns to their lives and within record time Mac had found herself talking with Dick. Every time she saw him Mac thought about that night when they had gotten a little too close to each other. She wondered if he even remembered it. She assumed not. It was barely more than a drunken kiss and he was hardly going to walk her out into his 09er world. Beauty and his Geek. Just the thought was ridiculous.

Mac's phone rang and 'what do you know' it was Veronica.

"Hey Mac, Whacha doing?" Mac smiled at V's opening dialogue.

Those were always the words Veronica used when she wanted something that would inconvenience and possibly make someone break the law.

"Working hard" Mac replied, mindlessly inputting lines of code and sipping coffee from her corporate Kane Software mug.

The job wasn't the most interesting but she didn't mind. Mind-numbing tasks gave her time to daydream about being rescued by Captain Malcolm Reynolds or hanging out in purgatory with only Dean Winchester and Castiel for company. What wasn't great was ever since the reunion those wonderful fantasy heroes all seem to morph into Dick Casablancas and she seemed incapable of stopping it from happening.

"Good, Good" she heard Veronica reply and it was clear from her friend's tone that she was working hard herself. Probably juggling too many tasks at once, as usual.

"Listen I was wondering if you could do me a favour. I'm stuck on a stake-out at the moment and…" there was a pause and Mac imagined Veronica ducking down in her car to hide from view or taking a couple of incriminating photos in the silence.

"My Dad really needs this memory stick. I was wondering whether you could go get it for me and take it over to my Dad."

Mac felt a little disappointed, she was hoping for something a little more exciting, something that would stretch her skills a bit, but at the end of the day a friend in need and all that, of cause she would do it.

"Yeah sure, no problem, but can it wait till morning?, I'm on the late shift at the office tonight".

"In the morning is fine Mac. Okay, it's over at Dick Casablancas' house, I'll text you the address"

"It's over at where now!" Mac felt the blood drain from her face.

_Well, be careful what you wish for Cindy Mackenzie_. She had just said she wanted something a little more exciting.

"It's at Dick's place, I think it fell out of my bag when I was staying over with Logan". There was a little more silence over the line, something must have been happening at the stake out.

"Ah crap… I gotta go Mac and thanks you're a life saver" then the phone went off leaving Mac shouting 'No, But and I Can't' into dead air.


	2. Chapter 2

**Way back to the college days.**

The thing that he liked best about the Frat house was the noise. It was never a quiet place. Just like Union station, a constant flow of people passing through, some even stopping to chat awhile before heading off to class. It was easy. Easy to be Dick Casablancas in a place like that, the shallow, malicious slacker that he had always been in high school. It was easy because the joint was filled with like-minded people.

The weight that was life had always bounced off the surfer's well toned shoulders. Bad things were something that happened to other people, he never let their pain affect him. Dick Casablancas main concern had always been finding the next party and the next girl who would sleep with him. But he hadn't been that person for a while now. Not since his brother….. The fact that he couldn't even finish the thought within his own head showed just how badly he was dealing with Beav's death.

It was a new year at Hearst. The summer already seemed like a distant memory and within the Pi Sig walls there was always a quest to undertake, or a social event to plan, he could immerse himself in a string of pointless activities that distracted him from who he had become since that graduation night at the Neptune Grand.

Dick slouched back on the couch absorbed in a video game when he felt something nudge his shoulder. He turned his head to see one of his fellow brothers hold out a cold bottle of beer. Dick reached to grab it without pausing from the game. He drank a lot. He often wondered whether people noticed just how much he drank. The term functioning alcoholic flitted through his head. He was becoming pretty good at covering up who he had become.

The sound of rapid gunfire emanated from the TV as he continued his assault through the first person shooter. He slumped back further expertly working the Xbox controller. There was a loud knock at the door and after realising that no one was going to bother answering it, Dick shuffled off the couch and went to greet the intruder.

The door opened with a slight squeak of the hinges and he was welcomed by the familiar tiny blonde and her nerdy sidekick.

"Dick" Veronica said.

It made him smirk how she always had a way of making his name sound like a greeting and an insult all at the same time.

"Ronnie, always a pleasure." his words were welcoming, the inflection wasn't.

The relationship between the two of them had improved a little, mainly due to Logan Echolls, the common denominator, but they were never going to be good friends.

He knew she would never forgive him for his part in the whole affair at Shelley Pomroy's party. He had come to realise why there was an age limit on alcohol. Drunk teenagers do stupid, stupid things. Most of them can be dismissed as innocent mistakes but sometimes the effects ruin lives.

Dick would one day apologise for his part in it all but it had to be the right time. When it happened Veronica Mars would know that he meant it. In the meantime he could handle the revulsion she felt for him. He deserved it.

On the other hand, their chilly exchanges were partly because he hated the way she treated his boy. Every time V broke things off with Logan, she didn't get to see the heart-broken boy she left behind. He hated seeing his best friend like that. Why couldn't that girl understand that she meant the world to Logan.

Veronica stood eyeing Dick on the door step. She looked up at him with disdain at the awful t-shirt he was sporting. 'The man, The Legend'. An arrow pointing to his face referring 'The man' part of the slogan while an arrow pointing down towards his 'you know what' referred to 'The Legend'.

"Seriously, you wouldn't have to try so hard getting women into bed if you stopped wearing those stupid shirts" she said

He responded with that familiar little pout of his. He didn't have to work _that_ hard to get girls to sleep with him, so the t-shirts were staying.

She tipped her head slightly realising that Dick wasn't going to invite her in to the house. He leaned across the threshold, his outstretched arm resting across the door jamb as a barrier halting her entry.

She waited a moment longer until Dick turned slightly to take a sip from the bottle in this hand, then dived under his arm into the house. Being pint-sized had it's perks.

"Chip Diller! come out come out where ever you are!" she called in a sing-song manner and then disappeared from his sight leaving Dick still at the door in front of the geeky brunette, Cindy Mackenzie.

He flicked away blonde locks from his face and avoided her eye contact as best he could. God, the things he had done to this girl last term? He'd ignored her, he'd accused his brother of not loving her and to top it off he had tried to kiss her at the beach. It was a miracle she could manage to smile in his presence. To be honest Dick was half expecting to be kicked in the nuts at any moment.

He figured Mac must have kept all that stuff to herself because if Veronica had known about it then he would _definitely_ be lying on the floor from a severe nut kicking.

Mac was stood there quietly waiting. She hadn't dived under his arm as Veronica had done, she was clearly waiting for an invite, but Dick wasn't sure he could do it.

This particular girl confused the hell out of him. There was a time way back in high school when those big beautiful eyes of hers and that shy smile that always started at the corner of her mouth were placed in a neat little box inside his head.

He kept up his 09er image at school. Had the right friends and Madison as his girlfriend. Cindy Mackenzie did not belong there. He would have been excommunicated from his own damn group if he had shown up hand in hand with her. Even Veronica barely managed to make it through unscathed and she'd had Duncan, Lily and Logan fighting her corner.

No, Mac stayed locked away, secure in his head, the images only brought to life when he was safe and alone in his own bed. And he was perfectly ok with that arrangement. High school was a war zone and he had intended on surviving it the easiest way possible.

He could pinpoint the moment that it all went to shit. Mac had walked around the corner holding hands with Beaver at the Winter Carnival. He hadn't thought himself capable of that much jealousy until that moment. He had reacted by viciously laying into his brother, humiliating him in front of Mac and his friends.

Cassidy may have just been his nerdy little brother but he was still an 09er, still a Casablancas but he hadn't been afraid to be seen out in public with _his_ girl and Dick hated him for it in that moment.

Then things got infinitely worse, just when the pain of seeing them together dwindled to a dull ache of acceptance. Cassidy had dived of the top of the Grand. Before Dick was given a chance to mourn his baby bro, he was told about the terrible things Beav had done. That was about the time when Dick lost it. Conflicting emotions and questions, enough to fill a small planet circled around him and he couldn't separate them and find peace.

Mac was still standing there at the front door of the Frat house waiting to be invited in and he really wanted to, but he seemed to exhibit bi-polar type behaviour when he saw her and he wasn't sure what version of Dick he would display today. Veronica hadn't come out yet so he needed to do something. He was having a fairly good day so far, so felt sure the least he could manage was civility.

He didn't speak, he wasn't really sure what to say to the only other person he knew that felt something other than hatred for his brother. Dick moved away from the door jamb allowing her passage into the house.

He shuffled back to the couch and settled quickly back into his game. He hadn't expected for Mac to follow and sit down beside him. Being in close proximity to her was not helpful.

"Don't you need to go help Ronnie or something?" he hinted but she just shook her head and continued watching as he emptied rounds of ammo into unsuspecting enemy.

"What fun event is she set on destroying today? He asked, Mac shrugged her shoulders.

"No idea, I just met her by the quad and saw she was on a mission so I decided to tag along. We are going for ice cream next" she replied brightly leaning slightly forward watching his technique with the game.

"If you start backseat driving Mac, I'm kicking you out of the house" he said taking another sip of beer and finding it empty.

Dick hit pause, leaped over the couch and went in search of more alcohol. His absence hadn't been longer than a minute but was enough to find Mac had taken his place in the game.

He plonked down beside her heavily, sending her off balance for a second then settled back to watch her gaming skills. He caught the scent of her perfume in the disturbed air between them, it was faint and flowery and smelt so good on her. He dared to move a tiny bit closer and passed her a beer. She shook her head at the offer, taking a minute to look him in the eyes, her brow full of concern.

"Do you have to drink so much?"

Dick felt like he'd been hit in the chest for a moment. How was he supposed to answer that.?

'_Yes, Hell Yes, Absolutely, he most definitely needed to drink so much. How else was he supposed to get through the day?'_

"It's college Mac, every day is a party, chill out. " He forced one of his best easy-going smiles across his face.

Mac nodded sadly and went back to the game.

They sat in awkward silence until, thankfully, Veronica reappeared with a livid looking Chip Diller hot on her heels.

"Ok, Mac, lets go get our chunky monkey on" she called over ignoring the angry protests from Chip.

Mac stood up looking down at Dick and tossed him back the controller, she gave him a nervous smile and headed over to Veronica.

Dick watched as they opened the door to leave and quickly called out.

"Hey Ronnie, tell me whatever you just came to ruin didn't involve me"

Veronica turned to look at him for a minute while he looked back at the game and returned to where Mac had just left off. She had that devious look that she gets and her hand was planted firmly on her hip.

"I don't know Dick, where you planning on taking part in this years skateboard scavenger hunt?"

"Yeah"

"Not anymore you're not" she replied smugly

"What the hell Veronica" Dick shouted back, but the two girls were already out of the door.

He slammed his head against the back of the couch and his eyes fell upon the TV screen, reading the stats of the game in the corner. He spent days frustratingly trying to clear the level and Mac had done it in five minutes.

Damn she was amazing!


	3. Chapter 3

**Present day**

As Mac approached the beach house she looked like a boxer strutting towards the ring. Taking deep breaths she found herself doing a kind of nervous shake-out as she walked up the long drive. All that was missing was a kicking theme song to give her confidence.

Her head wanted to make this more difficult than it had to be. Mac was an adult and she was fairly sure she could behave like one. This visit just needed to be a quick 'in and out' job. Five minutes tops. How hard could it be to grab a memory stick and say 'seeya'?

The main problem was, that ever since Dick had spoken to her at Gia's after-party her mind had started to dive back into the night they got a little bit cosy.

It was that night they all found out Veronica had transferred to Stanford. The blonde had 'up and left' without telling anyone. That put a strain on the new friendships Mac had formed in her first year at Hearst.

Dick's main concern had been keeping his best friend from going nuclear. Logan hadn't taken V's secret flit across the state too well. But even after everything had calmed down Mac never heard from him.

Her girly emotions took a stranglehold on her rational thought. _Did he regret making out with her? What did she manage to do to Casablancas' men to made them not want to be with her? _The list of self pitying questions seemed to be endless.

But even if all the emotional stuff didn't exist, The fact was Dick never called her and she just missed hanging out with him. That's what hurt her the most.

Mac took another couple of deep breaths and rang the door bell. Then rang it again and a third time. Nobody came.

Any calm resolve she'd acquired vanished and she dialled up Veronica.

"I'm standing at Dick's and there's no answer." The 'Hi, How are you doing' phone etiquette was absent from the girl trying to keep a lid on her annoyance.

"Well Mac, that could be because you're not due till 11am" Veronica replied

"No, No you text me 10am, I have the text here." Mac began to scroll through phone functions inadvertently hanging up on V in the process.

She brought the message up. It said 11am. Veronica was right. _Damn it!_

The phone rang back.

"Did you just hang up on me?" Veronica inquired.

"Yeah, sorry, "I found your text, I must have read it wrong". Mac replied in defeat, she had turned up an hour too early.

She reassured her friend that she could hang around a little longer. She didn't need to be at Kane Software until 2pm so had plenty of time.

Ending the call to V, Mac glanced at her watch. 50 minutes until 11am. What was she going to do for 50 minutes?

The walk back to the car seemed longer for some reason, why she just didn't drive it up to the house she didn't know.

Mac wiped perspiration from her forehead as she pulled off her hoodie and threw it on the back seat. She was glad she wore shorts and a vest top because it was turning in to a real scorcher. The plan was to sit in the car and wait, maybe read a book. But heat exploded from the interior like opening an oven door and she couldn't bare to get in. Instead Mac headed a few yards down the street to the set of steps leading down to the sandy beach.

There was a strong breeze by the ocean edge but it was a hot wind and did nothing to lessen the heat. Mac sat back on the sand and passed the time people watching across the expanse of beach.

Her eyes closed at the hypnotic sound of the ocean, The slow flow and drag of the tides really was one of the most amazing sounds in nature. She let it overwhelm her for a moment before focusing again on her surroundings.

Her eyes fixed on a person. It was Dick. How she managed to find him when there were people and surfers as far as the eye can see was a mystery.

And Hell, if he wasn't emerging from the sea like Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. This really wasn't fair. This was supposed to be a quick 'in and out' job.

He made his way over to a gang of kids further down the beach away from where she was sat. They were sitting with surf boards. From watching for a while, it seemed like he was giving them surfing lessons. It also became apparent from watching longer that these kids had hearing impairments.

What she was looking at couldn't actually be happening, right?

Dick Casablancas was teaching deaf kids to surf?

This was the guy who once came to school with a water pistol filled with bleach intent in destroying everyone's clothes.

This was the guy who regularly stole freshman's clothing while they were in gym class.

This was the guy that tried to rufie his own girlfriend.

Stop!

How could she recall his teenage crimes when she herself had orchestrated the purity test, which caused good, innocent girls to be bullied and ridiculed all because she wanted a new car.

She looked over at Dick and again watching him laughing and joking as he showed the kids how to get their balance.

This was the guy who once sat through a whole episode of Glee with her just so she didn't go home scared after watching a Halloween Movie marathon.

This was the guy that would let her beat him at video games.

She caught him glance at his watch which made her check her own. It was almost 11am. Time to get moving.

Mac walked back up the steps to the street, letting Dick take his short cut. He would arrive before Mac, giving her a little time to build her courage back up.

The steps were hard. The heat had wiped her out and she just wanted to get inside an air conditioned house.

She rang the doorbell and watched Dick approach opening the door. His eyes widened in surprise

"I…I was expecting Veronica" he says leaving her standing outside.

She felt tired and just wanted to get inside.

"Well it's not Veronica, it's me so move aside" she abruptly said

Dick recovered from his shock and seemed unable to take his eyes off her legs and those little shorts she wore. Mac rolled her eyes at the obviousness of his leering.

"Right just give me the memory stick and I'll be on my way" she said momentarily closing her eyes, letting the cool air-con fan her face.

He looked a little sheepish as he led the way through the house.

"V just said she'd left something, never said what, so I have no clue where it is."

Mac tried to reply but the room started to spin, she grabbed hold of the kitchen counter to steady herself, knocking off a bunch of papers scattered across it surface, one being a brochure for the newly opened luxury hotel down town.

The kitchen top looked like it was being used as a work surface but her sudden bout of vertigo stopped her processing what she had seen.

"Hey, are you ok?" Dick asked suddenly at her side.

"I…I don't feel so good, I feel kind of shaky" she said completely at a loss of why she was feeling that way. She tried to move away from the counter and felt a wave of nausea hit.

Dick took hold of Mac's hand and walked her over to the large soft couch. She sat down and he quickly left returning with a bottle of water.

"Just drink this slowly" he said crouching down to her eye level and studying her for a second.

"You look like you have heatstroke" he said sternly. That easy, cocky smile he usually wore was absent.

"Jeez Mac, did you have any sunscreen on at all?" he asked already knowing the answer from the growing redness on her shoulders and back of her neck"

"I wasn't out in the sun for very long" she weakly argued.

Dick shook his head disappointingly

"I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. Keep drinking that water" he ordered and then vanished from the room.

She took small sips and sat back a bit further on the couch. The liquid, cool air and shade from the blinds were already starting to work their magic. Now if she could just get the growing burning sensation on the back of her neck to stop then all would be well again.

"Brace yourself" she heard Dick say milliseconds before she felt cold cream touch her burning skin. An 'F' word flew from her mouth at the sudden contact. Dick sniggered at her shock then continued on the task in hand. She felt his big warm hands slowly rubbing the aftercare cream across the exposed skin around her shoulders, neck and the top of her chest. She felt a shiver run down her. It felt good, it felt soothing. She let out an other 'F' word. This time it carried over a long whisper and she prayed he didn't hear it.

When he was done Dick sat across from her on the couch. Neither knew what to say so they were quiet for a while. She could sense his unease at the silence and before long he filled the stillness.

"So…. The reunion was pretty eventful right?"

"I totally haven't been in a fight for years, I mean it was no red wedding but there must have been a fair amount of blood, did you see Logan head butt that guy?"

Mac nearly choked on her water

"Did you just reference Game of thrones" she asked at his red wedding comment, seeing him more of a Jersey Shore kind of guy.

"I'll have you know my TiVo is full with a variety of quality entertainment

"And I thought you just watched Spongebob all day" she responded playfully

"Spongebob Squarepants happens to be a great accompaniment for my brownies" he said, that smile of his back in full force.

This is what it was like, all those years ago when they were friends. Just talking and hanging out. The voice in her head brought forward the ever lingering questions.

_Just ask him if he remembers the night. Ask him did I do something wrong. Ask him why he didn't ring me_.

Mac leaned forward looking at Dick thoughtfully, she took a deep breath.

"Dick…..I need to find that memory stick now" she said while her inner voice called her a string full of gutless names for not asking him about the past.

He nodded and pulled her to her feet. Mac felt so much better, her eyes spotted the clock on the wall and she was shocked to see she had been there an hour already. So much for her 'five minutes tops' plan.

He pointed towards the hall and suggested Logan's room would be the best bet as that was where Veronica had spent most of her time.

Mac spotted the thing before she had even fully entered the room. It was there happily sat on the nightstand. It really could have all been that easy, if she hadn't have been so stupid with the sunburn and all.

Dick was waiting for her to return and he looked a little sad when she lifted up the memory stick she had found. He met her at the front door and took hold of her hand for a moment stopping her from leaving.

"You wanna stay and hang out for the rest of the day?"

The voice in her head was fighting to come out again. _Yes stay and ask him why he never called, just do it. _

But the truth was she was afraid of what the answer maybe. Instead she smiled

"I've got to go to work Dick, don't you have a job to go to?" she enquired wondering about the kids down at the beach or the stack of papers she disturbed when she arrived.

"Nah, What would I need a job for?" he said but looked away when he said it.

Many things may have changed in the last 9 years but one thing hadn't. Dick Casablancas was the worst liar ever. He was up to something but Mac didn't have the time to find out, she had to go.

With one foot out of the door Mac turned to say goodbye. Dick walked up behind her and threw a jacket over her shoulders.

"You need to keep covered up in this heat"

She pulled the fabric tightly around her inhailing all that was the big blonde surfer and smiled.

"I'll see you around Dick"


	4. Chapter 4

**Just a really quick Thank You to all those taking the time to read and comment on this story. I know you all already know this but it really does help with motivation.**

**So… I think this chapter is a little dark but don't worry we get brighter from the next chapter.**

* * *

**Way back to the college days.**

Veronica paced her bedroom floor, phone to her ear waiting for Mac to pick up. She was a terrible friend. She had made the decision to transfer to Stanford. Half her belongings were already there, yet she was keeping the secret from Mac.

Hearst Term started a few weeks earlier than most schools. The vacation period for that part of the state had been set at the turn of the last century. It had something to do with complicated workers rights and had stayed that way ever since. So with the extra time Veronica was tying up some loose ends.

She could tick Chip Diller off her list, so that left one other situation involving Robbie Taylorson and his minute schnauzer.

Her Dad knew about Stanford of course and so did Wallace. But the news was kept from Mac mainly because of the friendship she had built up with Logan over the last year.

Logan was a big part of her reason to leave. It was hard for her to be around him. They butted heads at every turn yet she was in love with him. She needed to make a clean break. If Mac knew about Stanford then she would have to keep the information from Logan and Veronica didn't want to put her friend in that position.

Mac answered the call and Veronica swallowed down her guilt.

"Hey Mac. Put your makeup on and do your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in… the Neptune Grand Ballroom" she tried but couldn't quite pull off Springsteen

"Veronica, its 9.30pm What are you on about?" Mac replied yawning down the other end of the line.

"Please tell me you are not in bed on a Saturday night, How old are you Mac?"

The brunette knew there was no point in trying to argue against whatever plan Veronica had. Her friend had a way of requesting things you just couldn't say no to.

"What do you want me to do?" she said in defeat

"We are going to a party and I just need a wingman."

A party at the Neptune Grand really was the last thing Mac wanted to do, she felt her stomach churn just at the thought.

"Actually I don't need a wingman, I need you to run interference for me. Logan will be there and I need his best gal pal to keep us apart and keep him occupied" Veronica begged

"and what exactly will you be doing in that time?" Mac inquired

Veronica gave her best revenge-y smile and said

"I'm going to see a man about a dog."

* * *

Within the hour Mac found herself stood just inside the doors of the oversized function room that took up a great deal of the Grand's ground floor. It was overflowing with the rich and the barely famous. She had no idea who or what the party was in aid of and she didn't really want to know. What Mac wanted, was to be in bed catching up on episodes of Battlestar Galactica.

Veronica was at her side slowly scanning the room for her prey. The tiny blonde looked at bit like Arnie in the terminator. Mac could imagine red computer text scrolling across her friends vision, providing intimate spec's on the room's inhabitants. It made her smile.

Mac had been forced to wear a full length dress. It was navy blue and fairly plain in detail but it was tight. Not 'too small for her' tight , more 'clinging to her body' tight. She twisted the fabric around her thighs and legs for the tenth time. It flowed down to her ankles restricting movement of her legs, forcing her to take small steps everywhere. What made things worse was the heels. Veronica insisted she wore some but Mac could hardly keep herself upright in them.

She felt Veronica's hand swat her own, the small sting stopping her from fidgeting with the dress.

"Stop it Mac, you look amazing" her friend said as they started to walk through the room. It wasn't long until they bumped into a certain blonde surfer.

"Ah Dick, of course you're here, wherever there's free booze and cheap women.." Veronica quipped.

Dick just nodded , he forced a smile and then walked on by. It was strange. Dick always had a come-back for V. They may not have been at the level of Logan's poetic witticism but he usually had some kind of retort. Veronica was so mission focused that she missed his lack of comment. Mac hadn't.

It was a good while later when Veronica caught sight of her objective and left Mac standing in a room full of strangers. She hadn't asked her friend about the so called 'man and his dog'. She knew better. Veronica was never just investigating one job. She would have a dozen things on the go, many of them overlapping and interweaving with each other. It was all too complicated for Mac to follow. It was like trying to solve a rubik's cube when only Veronica could see all six sides.

Thankfully Logan appeared through the masses and Mac kept him talking for as long as she could, just as she had promised she would. They got on well but Logan was far from stupid, he knew if Mac was here then Veronica couldn't be far away and as they chatted she could see his eyes drift though the crowds trying to spot V.

The bar seemed to be calling her name. It was stifling in the room and she started to feel dehydrated. Why were hotels always so hot? Mac ditched Logan's company for a while and ordered an ice-cold soda. Anyone would have thought she'd just been rescued from the desert the way she swallowed down that drink.

The heavenly feeling was fleeting, she turned back towards Logan to see Veronica facing him. They had found each other. Veronica Mars was a damn magnet. Mac didn't need to know what was being said, their body language spoke volumes. He had is hands firmly planted in his pockets, Veronica had her arms crossed over her chest. They were trying to just be friends but knew if they let their hands move freely they would inevitably find each other.

Veronica had asked Mac to keep them apart and she had failed. It was time to go home. Mac hobbled towards the back exit and pushed down the bar, opening into the dark alley. The cool evening air was more than welcoming. Mac breathed in a lungful whilst letting the door slam shut behind her.

In the shadowy passage Mac pulled out her phone and send V a text.

'_I tried, I failed, I'm sorry. Going home now :) _She felt the smiley face was important.

Getting her bearings, Mac worked out which way she needed to go to the main street and find herself a cab. She hadn't taken more than a half-dozen steps when there was an almighty clatter up ahead.

Two great dumpsters blocked her view but she caught some movement from the other side of them and heard a considerable amount of swearing. Mac recognised the voice. It was Dick. He stumbled into view with his back to her. Mac stood stock still hoping he wouldn't turn and see her. It was clear he was incredibly drunk and Mac didn't want to be anywhere near him in that state.

They had sort of hung out together quite a bit when Logan had invited her over to the penthouse. He had also made that weird apology down at the beach but she couldn't forget the things he had said the night he came looking for Parker. God those words hurt. Mac couldn't bear to hear him say things like that to her again.

She would rather leave him to wallow in whatever pity party he was throwing himself than be subjected to that again. Mac took a step back away from him but her heel scraped against gravel and he turned to see her. She felt like a deer stepping on a twig alerting the wolf to her location.

"Oh great it's you, twice in two days, it must be my lucky day" he slurred, sarcasm dripping from his words.

She had almost forgotten that she had stopped by the Pi Sig house the day before with Veronica, it had seemed a lot longer ago. It was clear he had nothing good to say and Mac wasn't sticking around. She turned and started to walk away, gradually, because those damn heels and stupid dress slowed her hasty retreat.

"I'm sorry" she heard him suddenly shout from behind her.

There was a few too many S's in the word 'sorry' for her to care but another clatter forced her to turn around and check he hadn't just done himself some damage.

Dick was down on his knees trying to pull himself back to his feet against the dumpster but only using one arm for leverage. Closing the distance Mac looked down at him and saw that his other hand was swollen, his knuckles covered in blood.

"What the hell did you do, punch the wall?"

His lack of reply suggested that was exactly what he had done.

"Why, Why would you do that?" she shouted down at him, confusion on her face.

She understood the need to punch things sometimes. It was that satisfied feeling of release, expelling pent-up anger or aggression but to take it out on something immoveable and solid didn't make sense to her. Surely they could be no release only pain.

She waited for his reply and he took his time giving it to her.

"It stopped me thinking."

Dick gave up trying to stand and slumped against the dumpster holding this injured arm to his chest.

Mac was overcome with a sinking feeling in her stomach. His words just then had frightened her. They did not come out of the mouth of the Dick she knew. The Dick who was largely 'a dick'.

Although she had no experience with it, his words sounded more like something a self-harmer might say. Pain to deal with pain.

"My mom text me today, she's not coming home next week…again." he paused for a moment wincing at the pain in his wrist then added.

"I think it's easier for her to think she has no sons than to see one without the other".

At that point Mac somehow managed to get to her knees beside him in that tight dress.

_Damn it_, she couldn't walk away now. She couldn't and she didn't want to.

He pulled over a half full bottle of vodka that was down by his side and took a long drag from it. It seemed he wasn't finished getting drunk for the night. Mac just sat there quietly, she'd never really been much of a people person. She had absolutely no clue what to do to make this better.

Dick seemed to want to excuse away why tears were falling down his cheeks, he seemed embarrassed by them.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm on top of a helter skelter just sitting and waiting, then something happens like the text off my mom and I'm pushed over the edge of the slide. Then every question, every doubt, every regret comes pouring out of me and I can't stop it Mac, I'm just slipping down that slide round and round with no control"

He frantically rubbed the tears from his eyes trying to regain some composure. He didn't like feeling this weak.

"I don't think I'm going to make it" he added hopelessly.

Mac grabbed hold of his hand and just squeezed. She didn't need to ask what the subject of those questions were. What possible issue other than his little brother could cause this big, bright, carefree slacker to breakdown like this.

All this didn't look like normal grieving to Mac. He looked like a boy who was completely lost.

Dick had been in her life for a long time but she didn't really know much about him. He had always been a sort of second tier acquaintance. The brother of her boyfriend, the enemy of a friend, the friend of a friend. So that was probably why this was the first time she realised that Dick Casablancas was all alone and hadn't had anyone help him though the complicated mess Cassidy had left behind.

She'd had support from her parents and a little counselling to help her deal with her feelings. Mac pulled out a tissue from her purse and handed it over.

Dick ashamed of his little collapse found some final words.

"Don't tell Logan" he begged

She was about to ask why not, but he answered the question before she got chance.

"After everything that guy has been through, I don't know how he manages to get out of bed in the morning" Dick said.

She understood then, how could he talk to a guy about his problems when that guy had experienced a lifetime more pain than he could ever imagine. If there was a contest of screwed up emotions Logan Echolls would win every damn time.

Dick took another gulp of vodka and Mac pulled it away from him. She clambered to her feet.

"Okay, I think it's time to get you to the hospital and let them have a look at that arm of yours" she said.

If she couldn't help him with his emotional pain the least she could offer was to help with the physical ones.

To be continued…..


	5. Chapter 5

**Still way back to the college days **

It was almost midnight when Mac struggled to pull Dick to his feet. He wailed like a baby every time she accidentally brushed his injured hand and she was losing patience. Dick had agreed to let her drive his car to the hospital so they walked in the direction of the hotel car lot.

Dick had drunk enough to believe that having an injured hand effected his ability to walk. He draped himself around Mac letting her take the brunt of his weight. She could hardly breathe from the load pressed upon her and half expected to get a sprained ankle from the stupid heels she still wore. After a good ten minutes She'd had enough.

"Are you seriously going to let me do all the heavy lifting?, you weigh a ton" she huffed

"Sorry, you kind of feel all warm and shiny" he slurred, his good hand moving down the silky material of her dress.

He went on to mumble about some memories from school.

She didn't listen when he spoke about Clemmons car needing a whole new paint job after he and Beav left some hard candies on the hood, which melted in the sun until they welded on.

She didn't listen when he said he should have asked her out in high school.

Her eyes were on the prize. Getting to that car was the number one priority and he was making it hard work. She heard him mumble a half-dozen other things that seemed less than important, she took no heed and kept moving forward.

Standing by the side of his black BMW Mac heaved his body away from her, letting him stand under his own steam and watched his gentle sway.

"Keys!" she demanded holding out her hand

Dick's good hand moved across his body trying to reach for the keys in his opposite pocket. He made hard work of it and in her impatience Mac thrust her hand in to the pocket of his trousers and retrieved the keys.

"Yeah, you liked that didn't you?" Dick said, a lazy smile across his face accusing her of trying to cop a feel.

Mac casually grabbed at his sore hand and lightly squeezed

"Arrgh, what the Fu…."

"Get in the damn car" she shouted, seriously wishing she had left him on the floor in the dark alley.

* * *

After the initial check-in and assessment had been done at the hospital, it was just a matter of waiting. Patients were taken in priority order, and they quickly realised they would be there a while.

Mac considered ditching him and taking his ride for a decent run along the PCH. She loved her little mean green machine but as they drove through the city towards the hospital Mac could feel the smooth power of the BMW and she had to admit it made her feel a little giddy.

She looked at Dick sat beside her. A smug smile came across her face. He looked rough. Really rough. They had stopped by a drive-thru on the way to the hospital and she had forced coffee down his throat in an attempt to sober him up a bit. It seemed that red eyes, a hangover and the strong glare of florescent lighting didn't do the good-looking blonde any favours. But it did make him a little more human. Maybe she couldn't just leave him there after all.

Mac glanced at her watch, it was 2am and they were still waiting. Her eye lids became heavy and she had to fight to keep them open. Dick eventually broke the silence

"I hope I get a hot nurse"

Mac laughed at this, she was really tired and thought that hysteria may have kicked in.

"You never stop do you?" she commented at his pursuit of women.

He shrugged his shoulders while his eyes followed an attractive receptionist back and forth across the room.

"I am who I am Mac, no plans on changing anytime soon" he answered brightly but the trauma of the last few hours had taken some of the sunshine out of the tone.

They watched as yet another person got called out before them. Mac found the courage to ask something that she had been thinking about for a while.

"Did you say earlier that you wished you'd asked me out in high school?" it seemed that his mumblings hadn't been completely ignored.

Dick seemed to grow pale at her question and Mac swore he looked like he had stopped breathing for a moment. He looked away and tried to deny saying such a thing but Mac knew what she had heard and pressed him for an answer.

He sighed knowing there was nowhere he could run to and she would keep staring at him until he said something.

"I just meant, if we had gone out in high school, we would have broken up, then you would have gone on to hate me, because that's what girls do. Then you would have avoided all things Casablanca's related including Beaver." he paused not sure he could look at her in the eye. He then felt the need to summarise his explanation.

"Dating me could have saved you from all the pain my brother caused you"

His words rendered her speechless. It showed concern for her from someone she had never really spent any time with . Mac wondered how long that thought had been rattling around his head.

"Did you _want_ to ask me out in high school?" Mac felt sick the second the question was out, what had possessed her to just say that out loud.

Of course he didn't want to ask her out. He didn't know she existed until she started dating Cassidy. How could she compare to the Madison's, Shelley's and Meg's of the world. Mac knew that Dick's eye had never strayed far from the 09er cliqué he inhabited.

Dick hadn't reacted to the question, hadn't laughed at the absurdity of it. She saw him swallow hard then turn to look at her, he looked about to say something when Mac heard his name being called.

'_Richard Casablanca's, could you follow me please.' _

He wore a look of relief, as he followed the nurse away from the waiting room. Mac considered calling him 'Screech' because he'd just been saved by the bell.

Some time later they were back in the car. Dick held his hand against his chest delicately. Two broken fingers strapped together and a bruised wrist. As soon as Mac pulled away from the hospital Dick had taken out his hipflask from his jacket pocket.

"Please tell me you are not starting again?" she asked exasperated.

"I've had a really crap night Mac, just let me be" he pleaded. Mac pulled over quickly and patted down his chest until she found the prescription pain meds he had been given.

"Fine you do what you want, but I'm looking after these" she said putting them in her purse. The last thing she needed was him overdosing.

* * *

The pair stood side by side in the hotel elevator, leaning against the illuminated woodland scene. They rose slowly through the floors, both mesmerised by the rising numbers on the display. She shivered for a moment remembering being stood in there with her prom date, Butters. Mac still didn't know how she was roped into that one.

Just a few more minutes together and Mac could hand over custody of Dick to Logan. She glanced to her side and saw him staring at her. He had that lazy smile again, his eyelids were low and he clearly was well on the way to being wasted again. She tried to ignore him. It was hard.

Just as they reached the penthouse floor he moved forward and kissed her. It was barely a kiss, more of a peck. She felt the warmth of his lips against hers and the taste of whiskey from his hip flask. He pulled away slowly and looked down at her. She wasn't sure how to react so said the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm not going to sleep with you Dick"

He moved away swiftly and let out a loud laugh.

"It was just a thank you kiss Mac, you need to get your head out of the gutter".

Mac felt her stomach drop at his words. Cassidy had said something similar once. It was the first time she had seen any similarities between the two. They certainly weren't alike in height or looks. Academically they were poles apart so there had to be something. Unless one of them was switched at birth like she was. That would be unlikely.

She put it out of her mind and opened the door to the suite.

"Ok, I'm off home now " she yawned deciding on calling a cab from the reception desk. Her good deed was done and so was she.

He pulled her through the doorway standing a little too close and reached behind to push the door shut.

Her heart raced a little at his proximity and she quickly moved away from him.

"Just kip here" he suggested as he walked over to the bar finding a bottle of something that looked like more vodka.

"It's 4am and you're really tired. I'm crashing on the couch so my room is free" he said falling back on to the sofa, "lets save the cab money and you can drive yourself home in my car in the morning" he said

"It _is_ the morning" Mac pointed out but Dick just dismissed her smartass comment.

Double checking she still had held of his pain medication Mac reluctantly left him to his drinking.

The first thing she did, once in his room was pull the shoes off her feet and kick them far across the room. Relief followed instantly. Mac sat on the end of the bed and rubbed her aching feet. She was so tired she was falling asleep just sitting there.

Forcing herself up she pulled the zip down on her long dress. More relief, a rush of freedom. Mac dared herself to open a drawer in his room to find something to put on instead of the dress. A slight fear of finding handcuffs or something worse flitted through her mind as she slowly pulled one open.

Jackpot! Mac imagined a golden glow emitting from the drawer akin to that opened suitcase in pulp fiction. She had found the treasure of his apparel. The T-shirt drawer. Mac picked one up, read the slogan. _Nope, not wearing that one. _She picked another, _absolutely not_. Rummaging through a few more Mac came to the conclusion that she couldn't bring herself to wear any, even in the dark confines of a bedroom.

Ensuring the door was closed she pulled off the dress and stood in her underwear. It would have to do. Mac walked into the bathroom, washed the makeup from her face and rubbed toothpaste around her teeth not quite comfortable enough to use his toothbrush.

When she turned to leave she noticed clothes on the floor. Dick probably dumped them there when he changed for the party. Mac bend down and lifted the t-shirt up on the off-chance it was wearable. She read the words printed on the front. A big Grizzly holding and gun with the words _'I have the right to arm bears_'. She shrugged, she could live with that one and threw it over her head.

Stepping under the sheets Mac was out cold in less than a minute.

The slumber didn't last, she tossed and turned in her sleep. It was just so hot in the room, her earlier comment in the evening came back to her. Why were hotels always so damn hot?

Stepping out of bed to run some cold water over her face and hands Mac decided to check in on Dick. She wasn't sure on the time as she walked into the living area but the sun had risen and was shining through the balcony windows.

Dick was out for the count on the couch but he had slumped forward. She couldn't leave him like that, the thought he could choke on his own vomit filled her head.

Mac tried to push him over into a kind of recovery position but it was hard. He really was heavy. She persevered and eventually got him into some sort of suitable arrangement. His injured hand seemed to hang over the edge and just as she was satisfied he seemed to come around slightly.

Dick's injured hand glided up the inside of her thigh, all the way up to her panties.

"Mmmmm Mackenzie" she heard him moan in his sleep. The contact on her skin made her jump half across the room with shock.

He was unbelievable. The guy was even trying to get some action in his sleep.

Mac stood across the room, her heart thumping in her chest. He was out cold again but she could still feel a tingle where he had touched her. Why was she tingling? Mac's confused feelings could only be put down to tiredness. It was affecting her ability to think straight. That was the only explanation for the weird sensation she was not willing to explore at that moment. Mac turned quickly and headed back into the bedroom.

* * *

Dick woke up with a jolt of pain. He had rolled on to his injured hand and instantly remembered that he had broken his fingers the night before. He felt pretty bad, headache, nauseated and the inside of his mouth felt furry. But if truth be told, he had felt worse.

He looked around the room and saw that Logan's jacket was across the end of the sofa and his bedroom door was still shut. He must've had a late night too if he was still in bed. The two boys had pretty good internal clocks, years of early morning surfing had done that.

Dick pulled himself gingerly to his feet and walked to his bedroom. The blood rushed to his head and it pounded hard when he caught sight of Mac led asleep on top of the bed. His memories of the evening before where flooding his head but battled over what his eyes were seeing.

Legs. He could see Mac's legs. He'd never seen her legs before. She was face down, sprawled across the sheets which looked like they had been kicked away in protest . Her hair covered her face and she wore a t-shirt that had lifted a little so that he could see the edge of some pink panties on top of those beautiful legs.

There was a time in high school when she always seem to wear those baggy cargo pants and he wondered if she actually had legs like those little yellow Lego men, but thank the Lord for college. The girl had upgraded to tight jeans that showed off her fairly magnificent ass.

Dick called her name a couple of times but she was deep under so he snuck into the bathroom and used the time to take a particularly cool shower. The process took a little longer than normal, undoing buttons and undressing one-handed was tricky.

Feeling refreshed and a lot more human Dick pulled on the jeans that were still on the floor from the day before. He looked for the t-shirt to go with them and saw it was missing, he thought for a moment then coming to the right conclusion he snuck his head around the door, back into the bedroom and confirmed that Mac was wearing it. He couldn't understand why she would opt for a worn shirt over a whole draw of clean ones but it was her choice.

Not wanting to disturb her anymore than necessary, Dick exited the room shirtless whilst struggling to do the buttons on his jeans.

He looked up to see Logan stood by the bar swallowing down a bowl of cereal.

"Good afternoon roomie" Logan greeted brightly seeing that the clock had just clicked over to midday.

"Dude help me with these buttons" Dick demanded as he joined his friend at the bar.

Logan nodded to his hand and asked him what happened.

"Just drunken stupidity" he answered as Logan came around and helped him with his jeans

"We never speak of this again" Logan said when he'd finished as though they'd been engaged in something sordid.

Dick stood at the opposite side of the bar and tucked in to a bowl of cereal with his friend. They crunched their way through cheerio's noisily until Logan seem to freeze mid mouthful. Dick turned to see what his friend was looking at only to see Mac walking into the room.

Her hair was wild and she stepped zombie-like to the foot of the couch. She stopped and looked down for a second as though she was there to check on him. When she saw the sofa was empty her head spun around to see the two guys standing eating breakfast.

"Mac!" Logan said, the inflection was a mix of bemusement, shock and a little bit of anger.

Logan had been through a lot in his life and it took a lot to surprise him but this had. He glanced over to Dick who had suddenly found his cereal very interesting.

"Erm shower?" Mac said, the embarrassment of being stood in front of them in only a t-shirt stopped her ability to construct full sentences. She pulled down the hem of the t-shirt as Logan pointed to his room and told her to look if there were any of Veronica's clothes still in the wardrobe. Mac vanished quickly leaving the two boys alone.

"Please, please tell me you didn't?…" Logan couldn't bear to finish his sentence. He had watched many a girl walk into that room of Dick's and walk out the following morning, but he rarely saw the same girl come back again.

"I like having Mac around, she's cool to hang out with, I don't want her to stop coming over because of you"

"Relax dude, nothing happened, she drove me to the hospital and brought me home. It was late so I let her take the room while I crashed out here" he swallowed another mouthful of cereal showing the whole thing was no big deal.

"So there's nothing going on there?" Logan asked, suspicious that it couldn't be all that innocent.

"Nah, she's more of one of those 'last kiss' girls" he said casually as though Logan knew exactly what he meant. He didn't.

"You know a 'last kiss' girl, The last girl you kiss because she's the one you'll kiss for the rest of your life". There was surprise number two for Logan. It was almost an admission that Dick actually liked Mac. Almost.

"You know that's not a thing Dick" he said secretly smiling behind his cereal bowl

"Sure it is, just because you've never heard it doesn't mean it's not a thing" Dick replied.

"Anyway I'm not ready to give up on the other girls that need my attention just yet" he added

Before Logan could make any other comment, Mac arrived back in the room, her hair wet and tied back, wearing some jeans but still donning Dick's T-shirt.

"You know I'm sure there were a couple of Veronica's tops in there as well" Logan said not sure why she was still wearing that shirt.

Mac lifted the shirt slightly to reveal unbuttoned jeans.

"Veronica is a little skinnier than me, I needed a top to hide the fact I can't get them done up" she said

Holding up the car keys to Dick she asked if it was still ok to drive herself home. Dick nodded and thanked her for taking him to the hospital.

Mac turned and left the penthouse. She wondered if Dick was ignoring her a little, but then she decided she was reading too much into it. She had helped him out when he needed help, that was all. He was still Dick the 'dick' and she was still Ghostworld. Nothing had changed.

It had been an eventful night. Mac decided she should have stayed in bed when Veronica had called. There would have been less drama in the whole series of Battlestar Galactica then she'd experienced in the last 24 hours.


	6. Chapter 6

**A last look back to the college years. **

Dick stared out at the horizon. That thin unchanging line at the furthest point of his vision. He enjoyed nothing more than sitting on his surf board looking out at that constant margin.

Whenever he felt at his lowest he knew that coming down to the ocean and looking out to that ever present view would eventually level him back out.

Two broken fingers forced him to stay on the beach. His hands shook from an ever growing hangover while he sipped water from a bottle. Regrets from the previous evening lying heavy on his mind. He had unburdened himself on Mac. Put her in a position where she had to come to his aide and listen to a horde of sob stories.

Dick recalled standing in the elevator by her side, wondering who else in his life would have spent the night in a hospital waiting room with his sorry ass. He couldn't think of many, Logan? maybe.

He tried to imagine Madison being there in his hour of need. She would have complained about the state he was in. She would have complained about the stench of the dumpster, he would have counted himself lucky if she stayed long enough to help into a cab before ditching him to return to the party.

That would have been preferable to being found by Veronica. She would have probably left him where he lay after giving out a few choice lectures about his life choices. That girl struggled to say hello without turning it into a prologue.

Mac had been different. She was quiet and unassuming. When she spoke, her words were short and meaningful. But mainly she had just listened.

Dick realised when sitting by that dumpster that Cindy Mackenzie had become his horizon.

Taking another sip of water in an attempt to replace lost fluid from the night before, he closed his eyes and thought back to the day he first stored away her eyes and shy smile to memory.

Mr Kennedy's eighth grade study hall was the worst class of the week. He had demanded complete silence in the room, if he heard you cough it led to a weeks worth of detentions.

A short, skinny Dick Jr. had been staring at the new girl sat in front of him. She had long red hair that bounced across smooth milky shoulders and pale pink lips and brought out the Tiffany blue of her eyes. She was very cute and he wondered what her name was.

While sat infatuated with the girl, he felt a commotion in his peripheral vision. A young Dick turned to see a mass of darkness sat next to him. He hadn't even realised anyone was sat there until that moment. It was a girl with long dark hair, black pants and a dark blue hoodie. No wonder he hadn't noticed her, she could have been mistaken for a shadow.

The shadow was looking down at a yellow writing pad on her desk when she exploded with silent energy. The little brunette looked like she had just discovered the meaning of life or a way to bring about world peace. Maybe even invented the recipe for the everlasting gobstopper. Her head spun around wanting to share her revelation and Dick just happened to be the one looking her way.

Those big almond shaped eyes lit up brightly with pure happiness and her wonderful smile still remained the most genuine he's ever seen. He smiled back reactively and she suddenly realised that he wasn't one of her friends, in fact she hardly even knew him. Her smile faded to an embarrassed smirk.

Dick continued to watch when she turned back to the page on the desk. She held it aloft and applauded her mystery discovery. Little Cindy Mackenzie seemed to allow herself one last glance back at him and he saw the small shy smile at the corner of her mouth. His favourite. It always looked like she was desperately trying to hold back a bigger smile. He fell in love with that smile.

That cute redhead faded out of existence at that point for Dick. Her pastel colours blended into the background of summer. It was nice but it no longer compared to the brightness that had shone out of the little mass of darkness to his side.

Mac was a burning star, visible light-years away against the back drop of a black night sky.

Dick opened his eyes and looked out at the ocean again. It was a good memory, one that had kept him company for a long time. But now he was beginning to think he wanted more. He had told Logan he wasn't ready to give up on all the other girls, but that was said because he knew Mac could never be interested in him.

If he thought for a second that she could be…..he might feel differently.

* * *

Mac sat in her childhood bedroom at her mom and dad's house. Dick's T-shirt she'd worn home sat on the end of her bed and she couldn't stop staring at it.

'People don't change.' She had heard that statement many times over the years, but she wasn't entirely sure that was true.

Maybe people couldn't change by their own will but she believed that events in life definitely had the ability to change who you were. Sometimes she wondered if Cassidy would have done such terrible things if that bastard Woody Goodman hadn't happened along.

Mac never thought she be considering that question in regards to Dick, but she had seen something different in him. She wondered if he had changed. There were hints that he had actual feelings. Hints that he cared about more than just getting laid.

Maybe she was just falling foul of the age-old need for women to help fix the broken.

Maybe there was more to him than she realised.

Maybe she would like to see if they could be friends.

Maybe she wouldn't mention any of this to Veronica.

* * *

She could pick the movie. That's what Logan had told Mac and now Dick was standing at the suite door staring down at a copy of Harry Potter on DVD.

He should have been attending a Greek mixer with his Pi Sig brothers and now Dick was seriously wondering why he hadn't decided to spend the evening with loose Sorority girls who were pretending to be classy.

"Out of all the films in the history of the world and you picked Harry Potter?" Dick asked a little irritated by her choice.

"Millions of people can't be wrong" she answered brightly walking past him looking for Logan.

In the two weeks since Dick had broken his fingers Mac had been at the penthouse on numerous occasions. He wondered just when she had found time to hang out with Veronica, Parker and that really nerdy guy with the glasses. But he wasn't complaining. She may have been there to hang out with Logan but he was more than happy to gate-crash.

They played Guitar Hero while they waited for their friend. It was fun and easy and Dick was quite happy to play all night if it meant that they would have to miss out on the adventures of the boy wizard.

After a particularly good round Dick performed a little _'In your face' _dance at his guitar hero superiority even with still healing fingers . He glanced up to see Mac had stopped smiling. She had that distant look in her eye and he knew what it was.

It was another damn 'Cassidy' moment. It happened a lot. She saw something in him that reminded her of Beav and it knocked her back. The mood in the room would change and whatever strides forward they made in their friendship seem to take a step backwards.

The whole thing was starting to get to him. They were brothers, he couldn't help how they were alike. His little brother had taken this girl from him at the winter carnival and he was still trying to do it now.

Dick turned away from Mac trying to hide a moment of anger that had quickly consumed him. He stood staring out the balcony window then felt her hand on his arm. She had come over to check on him.

He seized hold of the brunette and pushed her forcibly up against the glass wall Pinning himself to her, he could feel the heat of her body radiating against his own.

"Dick, what are you doing?" fear filled her words. Her hands pushed weakly against his chest.

"I needed to know what it's like to be with you without my brother getting between us for once" he replied intensely.

The fast beat of her heart pounded against his own. Taking a moment to look down he saw panic in her eyes. _'What was he doing?'_ A whispered apology fell from his lips and Dick ashamedly pulled back putting some distance between them.

But resistance stopped his attempt to retreat. Mac's hands that had been set to push him away now curled in fists clinging to the material of his shirt, pulling him closer. He looked again at those frightened eyes to see the fear laced with anticipation.

He rested his forehead against her shoulder. _Did she really want to do this?, with him?. _His hands tested the boundaries and slowly moved to her hips. Dick felt her thrust forward to meet him. _There was his answer. _

Tilting his head a little at her shoulder, his lips gently make contact with the crook of her neck, Some of his self-control vanished when he heard Mac suck in a breath at his touch. Hands pulled vigorously at her shirt, needing to feel her bare skin underneath. His mouth continued to explore the curve at her throat, every sound Mac tried to suppress acted to spur him on.

Dick pushed a knee between her legs raising it upwards against her thighs. It lifted her slightly off the floor, pinning her harder against the glass. Another hitch of breath and he could feel a change in her.

He had scarcely started on the things he wanted to do to her and she was already coming undone.

Following the line of her jaw Dick kissed his way towards her mouth. He wanted to see what she tasted like, desperately. A loud bang stopped him from finding out and he turned to see Logan stood staring at them.

The shock of the interruption made Dick jump so much he almost careered through the glass window, Mac still in his arms.

Logan seemed blind to what was in front of him and as Dick untangled him self from Mac he could see his friends blindness was due to red mist clouding his vision.

"How am I supposed to get her back when she's moved across the state" Logan boomed, he words directed straight at Mac.

Dick looked between the two of them and saw the brunette had as much clue to what was going on as he did.

"Dude just calm down and tell me what's happened" he said moving in front of Mac to act as a barrier.

"Veronica's transferred to Stanford. She's gone, she's already left." he answered, his voice still roaring across the room, despair hidden in the tone.

"What?" Dick heard Mac whisper behind him, total surprise at the news was evident in her voice.

"You've been coming over here for weeks, how could you not tell me she was leaving?" he shouted around Dick towards her.

"I didn't….I didn't know" she quietly replied

"Bullshit!" Logan painfully yelled back, his eyes burning with tears.

"Hey!" Dick reactively shouted back matching Logan's angry tone for a second.

"If she said she didn't know, then she didn't know" he added watching his best friend fall back on to the couch, head in his hands.

"How am I supposed to get her back now? I thought I had more time" Logan repeated more to himself then anyone else in the room.

Dick looked back at Mac. He wore an apologetic look in his eyes. One that said _'I need to stay here with my best friend' . _

Mac got the hint, her hand was already on her phone. She wanted to know what the hell was going on with Veronica. If she really had left why would she have kept it a secret?. She saw herself out of the penthouse, leaving her 'moment' with Dick hanging unfinished in the air.

Mac would never know Dick's feelings for her had started in the eight grade just like Dick would never know just how hard and fast Mac had fallen for him in those few short weeks.

Because after all the Veronica and Logan drama settled down he never called her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Just a little chapter about Veronica and Dick before we get back to MaDi**

* * *

**Present Day**

Veronica Mars sat low in her boyfriends BMW, her camera casually leaning on the edge of the open window complete with telephoto lens. It was focused on the new hotel downtown. The Halimede. A huge glass structure all curves and light. It was quite beautiful in a modern architectural sort of way.

She had seen the brochure for the place. It had state of the art everything. Gym, Spa, it already had a Michelin star restaurant and was just a stones throw from the 09er club. It was the latest attempt to make the downtown upmarket.

Veronica was there on a case. The manager of the Halimede had a suspicious wife who had procured the PI's services. Late night phone calls and mystery meetings had got wifey thinking her husband of 12 years was having an affair. It was supposed to be a bread and butter job, help pay the bills. But after a week of surveillance Veronica found that Mr Eddie Mayes' activity was much more criminal than extra marital.

Veronica slinked down in her seat, camera readied as she saw the man in question walk out the front door with another guy. The angle was bad and she couldn't see the other man clearly. Clicking away with the camera she hoped it would provide better results than her eyes, after only a minute the two shook hands and walked away from each other.

Leaning a little forward for a better view, Veronica saw the other man's blonde shag of hair and recognised that it belonged to a certain best friend of her boyfriend. Dick Casablancas!

Why was she not surprised to see him at the scene. It seemed that a good chunk of her cases over the years had some link back to the dim-witted surfer. He walked a little up the street as far as a black Audi R8. Veronica quickly put the camera out of sight and shouted over to him.

"Dick! "

He looked out to the direction of the voice, cursing and shaking his head with irritation when he eventually located the source. Veronica just gave a little evil smile and crooked her finger, beckoning Dick to come join her. She loved to see him squirm.

"Step in to my office" she offered pointing towards the car's passenger seat.

He reluctantly hopped inside shoving away a number of fast food wrappers to make way.

"What are you up to?" Veronica asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Minding my own business, you should try it sometime" came Dick's biting response.

Veronica smiled slyly. She always did like the challenge of a mystery but felt she needed to offer her prey a fighting chance.

"You know I'll find out anyway, so you might as well just tell me."

Dick looked away, choosing not to play along. His familiar little pout apparent as he pushed away his hair from his eyes. It made Veronica's smile a little more, she had missed that pout these past nine years.

"It's disgusting in here Veronica" Dick said looking to change the subject and pulling his face at all the litter scattered inside the vehicle. "Remind me never to let you borrow _my_ ride if I leave town for 6 months" he added.

Turning briefly to look behind the front seats Dick found a basket of laundry.

"Honestly Ronnie, I thought PI 's sifting through dirty laundry was metaphorical, didn't think you actually did it" he let his hand fall across some material on top of the pile letting it slide through his fingers.

"It's freshly laundered and it belongs to a friend." Veronica yelled trying to pull his hand away but Dick's hand had frozen holding on to a t-shirt on the top.

Goosebumps rose up his arm at the touch. It was very familiar. The material was thin, proving it to be well-worn but he still recognised it as belonging to him. He remembered buying it down in Tijuana. His little finger tried to push through the tiny burn hole from where he dropped a joint. Twisting it further around his fingers Dick saw the 'bear holding a gun' depiction. It caused an image of Mac led across his bed in the Neptune Grand only wearing that shirt to flood his mind.

_She still had it after all this time, he hadn't even noticed she never gave it back._

"Why do you have Mac's laundry?" his voice cracked slightly as he asked. The discovery had taken him by surprise.

"I said it was a friends, what makes you think it's Mac's?." Veronica's eyes narrowed again at his correct assumption.

_Shit!_

"Err…I plucked the name out of the millions of friends you've managed to acquire with your warm and fuzzy nature" Dick answered rich with sarcasm.

Veronica's witty response was to give him the finger. Very lady like.

"It was either going to be Mac's or Wallace's and I don't think it belongs to teacher-boy" he said eying feminine underwear visible under the shirt" He forced his hand to release the threadbare material and all the memories it created.

"Ok, maybe it is Mac's, but I'll have you know I been called a marshmallow." Veronica conceded whilst trying to defend herself against his remarks that she was not easy to like. Dick sniggered loudly.

"A marshmallow? Yeah, one that's fallen off the stick and landed at the bottom of the camp fire maybe"

Dick stepped out of the car his mind reeling with images of Mac standing in his shirt. He had to get away from Sherlock Mars, another few minutes in her company and she would surely be able to guess why his temperature had just risen.

"I will find out what you are up to." she shouted over at Dick, watching him walk back towards the Audi. He threw off the weight of his thoughts and pulled back on his carefree façade.

"Whatever Ronnie, I'm too busy for this, places to go and chicks to _do_" he called.

Veronica watched him climb in to his car, the deep growl of the engine echoing off the downtown buildings. She leaned down into the passenger foot well and saw amongst the food wrappers a flyer that must have fallen out of his pocket. There was little information on it, just the words 'NYC Ball. The party of the year!' across the centre of the sheet. It reminded her of the 09er parties in high school, all secret codes to prevent the riff-raff from attending. This flyer looked the same but just more high-class.

Another mystery to solve along with Eddie Mayers extra curricular activities. She always was brilliant at multitasking.

A truck pulled up outside the hotel as she pocketed the flyer. PD Catering services bannered across it's side.

"Excellent" Veronica tapped her fingers together in a wicked manner. She looked up at the catering van. The perfect way to infiltrate the party to see what Dick was up to and also to get closer to Eddie Mayers, had just presented itself.

* * *

Mac stood inside the vast kitchens of The Hallimede holding on to a silver platter of tiny pink appetizers. She was working undercover dressed in the catering firms uniform. The white blouse was a little tight around the chest and the black pencil skirt a few inches too short for her liking, but the worst was the powder pink bow tie. The colour scheme of the 1980's. Somewhere across the other side of the hotel Veronica was dressed in identical garb.

Mac had asked her friend why she had been dragged in to help with all this.

"Because this is what you signed up for when you jacked in your job at Kane Software to come and work for Mars Investigations" Veronica had replied.

"I signed on to be the techie, the gadget girl. The _investigations_ part is supposed to be done by a 'Mars', hence MARS investigations" Mac tried to plead but to no avail.

So now Mac was skulking around the kitchens pretending to know what she was doing whilst trying to catch the creepy manager guy up to no good.

Luckily it didn't take long, she heard raised voices and caught sight of the manager through some swinging doors that batted back and forth a few times. Mac called V to tell her the good news.

The two girls met in the kitchen and Mac passed on the facts she had gathered so far. She had seen boxes piled behind the swinging doors and heard Eddie say something about 'it not being the agreed time and the drop off was supposed to be much later'.

Mac wanted to tell her friend more but they were interrupted by the catering team leader. He was a keen looking man with a striking resemblance to Vinnie Van Lowe but without the smarmy overconfidence. He thrust the platter of food at Mac and insisted she deliver it to the ballroom. Veronica looked at her friend with apologetic eyes, then ensured Mac that she would handle the manager. Mac reluctantly walked away.

Veronica stepped close to the swinging door and turned on her cell phone voice recorder capturing the illicit conversation. She had learned that in Neptune the law can be bought and only comprehensive proof together with threats of media involvement would ensure correct justice was done.

She wasn't as stealthy as she thought because suddenly a hand appeared from around the door clutching at her throat and pulling her into the room. The manager was alone now, whoever else had been there was gone.

"What are you doing out there?" Eddie menacingly asked.

Veronica struggled to answer because of the tight grip he had around her neck. Her eyes scanned the room and hidden within some of the opened boxes Veronica could see bags of pills buried amongst jars of pickled onions. They looked like Ecstasy but she had no real clue. She was kind of out of the loop as to what the kids were using these days.

"Are you going to sell those pills?" she asked through a croaky voice and the question threw Eddie off for a minute. Veronica was a little scared by him but in all honesty she had been in much worse situations than this one.

"What? What do you care?, they belong to me not you"

It felt almost too easy to get a confession from him. He saw a tiny smile across her face and realised what he had done.

Veronica's smile vanished when she saw a change in him, fear _did_ show in her face then. Hatred filled his eyes, he pulled back a fist and Veronica desperately tried to pull herself free.

"Say 'incredibly expensive Stilton'" someone said causing them both to turn.

A flash of light hit their eyes and it took them both a moment to see Dick standing there with his camera phone capturing Eddie's threatening image.

In the next moment Dick had punched the manager hard in the face sending the guy straight to the floor. He was out cold and Dick looked stunned by the power of his own strike.

Veronica was immediately on the phone calling for the police while Dick tried to calm a growing storm inside him. After she had finished giving her report over the phone and taking a few pictures of the pills, Veronica looked over at Dick who seemed to have lost a little colour to his face.

"You ok?" she asked not really caring to hear the answer.

He turned to face her , words exploding uncontrollably from his mouth

"I'm not ok, Ron. You can't do this Shit on my watch" he motioned around to the crime scene they stood amongst.

"Don't make me be the one who has to tell Logan that you got hurt on a job or even that you got killed. He doesn't cope well having to get over you Veronica"

She had seen Dick angry on occasion. The time she drove over his surfboard in school was a particularly strong example, but she had never seen him like this. He was boiling over with rage and it was laced with fear. His comment made her wonder if there was more to Logan's moping, and weekend benders to Mexico when she had left Neptune almost a decade ago.

"If you died it would kill Logan and I can't lose anyone else important in my life" he added and it was the first time Veronica saw just how important Logan's friendship was to him.

The outburst seem to show how much both of them were missing Logan and before Veronica could offer an apology the doors opened and a couple of deputies entered the room with a thousand questions.

* * *

It was still early in the evening but guests were starting to arrive for the NYC Ball. Mac had been searching for Veronica. She tried to go back into the kitchen but a mass of law enforcement was stopping her progress. Then she tried to search through the rest of the hotel but kept getting stopped by people actually believing she was a waitress and wanting drink orders.

At some point she found a quiet area. It was set way back at the other side of the lobby, it didn't seem to attract a lot of footfall. There was a rich carpet and a couple of high-backed chairs that looked out through large windows to an oriental garden beyond. She imagined businessmen sat here quietly reading the daily broadsheet before work.

In the peace Mac called her friend for the 6th time and felt a flutter of relief when the ringing could be heard just around the corner and Veronica walked into view.

Veronica spent a few minutes bringing her friend up to date on the situation ensuring her that she was well. When Veronica was finished Mac couldn't stop from asking a certain question. The one thing that was bothering her over everything else.

"What was Dick doing there?"

Veronica shrugged "I thought he may have been involved with what ever Eddie was in to but I think he may have just been here for the party" Veronica answered.

"Speaking of which I might just go and see what the 'party of the year' looks like before we leave" Veronica said beckoning her friend to join her.

Mac nodded and told Veronica she would come in a few minutes. She needed to find Dick. After the meeting at his house with the heat stroke and memory stick, Mac made a vow that she would ask him about the night at the Neptune Grand. This was a good a time as any.

It was at the point Dick appeared from around the same corner that Veronica had emerged from.

He looked good. It annoyed her how men seem to get better looking as they got older. Dick stood staring back at her clearly shocked to see her there. He wore a dark suit that seemed to fit him exceptionally well. It looked expensive and was a world away from when she last saw him dressed in beach wear.

His eyes ran up and down her body looking at the tiny uniform she wore. She could feel his intense gaze and it made her heart beat a little faster.

"Do you have a minute?, I'd like to talk to you." Mac quickly asked before she changed her mind.

Dick took a step forward, quickly glanced at his watch then returned his burning gaze to Mac's legs, slowly lifting his eyes past her tight blouse eventually settling lustfully on her lips.

"For you? I have all the time in the world".


	8. Chapter 8

**I think this story is starting to wrap up. Maybe one or two more chapters at the most. I just want to thank once again, everyone taking the time to read and review this story. It's all been great.**

* * *

Hope is a thing with feathers,

That perches on the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all

- Emily Dickinson.

* * *

**Present Day**

The sun had well and truly set for the day and the Oriental gardens that could be seen through the high windows behind Mac were no longer visible. The dark just acted to turn the windows reflective.

She could hear guests arriving at the far end of the lobby near the reception desk but her quiet surroundings seem to dampen the growing commotion from the party goers.

Dick was stood a few feet away in front of her, waiting patiently to see what she had to say. He played with his hair, a nervous habit he seemed to still have after all these years. It was hard for Mac to concentrate on her questions when he was standing there looking all kinds of pleasing.

_Why was it so important for Mac to know what happened after that night? _

That was simple. It was interrupted, unfinished business and Mac didn't _do_ unfinished business.

The fact was Mac was very good at dealing with the emotional trauma in her life. Once she had a handle on a situation, it was packed neatly away in a box in the back of her mind.

A bit like packing heirlooms up to the loft. The things from her past were still there, sitting somewhere above her head but they no longer stopped her from living her life.

This process had worked well when she found out that 'Mom and Dad Mackenzie' weren't her birth parents. It also worked for dealing with the death of Cassidy, although that did take a while longer.

She had tried to apply the same process to her feelings about Dick but had struggled. On the surface it should have been simple. He made out with girls all the time and didn't contact them again. Mac was an intelligent girl, she should have accepted that she had probably just been on her way to being another notch on his bedpost that night. One not even good enough for a do-over after they were interrupted.

If that was the case then she needed for him to tell her. So she could have her closure and pack him away in a tidy box.

The problem with all that was that her heart had got involved. She had well and truly fallen for that boy and the little bird of hope was perched, wondering if they could have been something more between them.

There had been no neat box to pack everything away in to for this situation. For nine years everything had been crammed in and the lid pushed down, but after the night of the reunion when he had come over to speak to her the lid was threatening to pop off like a half wound jack-in-the-box.

Dick was still stood waiting, his eyes following her as she moved a little on the spot trying to think of the best way to start.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked wondering why she was holding back.

"We have unfinished business" she said at last, thinking back to an earlier thought.

"Unfinished business?" He questioned taking another step towards her, a look of confusion at what she could possibly mean.

His movement caused her to step further back. He had a kind of hungry look as he studied her and she needed to keep a distance in order to keep her mind on the conversation.

Mac's back hit the window behind her with a thump. She looked up to speak again and saw Dick's expression change. It was as if he'd been staring at a magic-eye picture and suddenly saw the image revealed. Her standing against the window was reminiscent of the penthouse's balcony door and Dick seemed to put that together with her 'unfinished business' comment.

"Oh I see, unfinished business. Lets see if I remember where we got up to" he said closing the distance between them

"What? No, I…" Mac tried to speak to tell him she just wanted to talk but he was already pressing up against her, his hands pulling at her shirt, his knee hitched between her legs, his mouth biting gently at her neck. God it felt good.

"Was _this_ about right?" he whispered into Mac's ear.

_Was it right? _It was pretty much spot on in Mac's opinion but then again she had thought about it quite regularly over the last nine years. She wondered from Dick's attention to detail whether he'd thought about it too.

All this was not helping her get out the questions she had. Mac needed to put the lid firmly on the box of her Dick situation.

She tried to move away from him a little to give herself time to think but the friction between their bodies caused her tight blouse to pop open and his hands were covering her skin in an instant. Mac felt a burn grow slowly under her skin as she still fought to keep her head in the game.

His name was all Mac managed to get out of her mouth before his lips found that point on her neck that sent her straight to the edge.

Game over!

Mac's head tipped back against the glass and she let out an intense gasp at the contact. In all her relationships over the years, nobody had found that place that sent electricity coursing though her body, even she hadn't known it was there until the night at the Neptune Grand.

There were no more questions, no more thoughts other than the need to feel more of what he was giving her. Mac's fingers grasped at his hair, his neck, his shoulders, desperately pulling him closer. She could even feel him smile against her throat, satisfied that he'd pulled that reaction from her.

He brought his mouth up to meet hers and when their lips touched Dick seemed to still for a moment. She heard a growl come from deep within him. He mumbled something about eighth grade but she couldn't make out what.

Mac melted against the feel of his sultry mouth biting at her bottom lip, and she realised this was their first real kiss. They never made it this far last time and the peck in the elevator didn't count. The embrace was slow, they savoured every taste as though they were eating their favourite dessert. It was heavenly.

There was an eccentric cackle in the distance and they both stopped. She felt Dick turn his head to see a couple of girls at the reception desk caught up in their own joke not even looking their way. Mac pulled the collar of his crisp white shirt back towards her, his eyelids were low and his breathing a little laboured. She whispered into his ear.

'Please don't stop!"

Dick's eyes shot to meet hers for a moment. He was assessing if her definition of that statement was the same as his. Not stopping meant taking it further, it meant taking it all the way. Mac must have shown the right expression because an urgency seemed to take hold of him suddenly. Dick's arm flung around her waist and lifted her high enough that she was forced to wrap her legs around him. He moved her as far as he could into the corner of the quiet area, pushing back so she perched on the edge of a window ledge.

Her powder pink bow tie was lost on the move and Mac made sure Dick's neck tie joined it. She had to force him to move his hands from her body long enough to push his expensive suit jacket over his shoulders and on to the floor.

Their bodies rubbed together as they shifted positions a little and she felt his need was as great as hers. In fact she could physically feel _that_ need pressed hard against her.

Mac felt Dick's hand push up the material of her skirt, his fingers hooking around the edge of her panties slowly pulling them down. The feeling of his hands down there was almost too much. Mac stifled a moan down onto Dick's shoulder and she thought she heard someone cough. The sound was miles away, it couldn't penetrate the sensation of Dick's accelerated breathing just under her ear.

Except that moments later she heard it again, louder this time. Mac casually opened her eyes to look in front of her and saw a man standing behind Dick.

The man coughed again louder still, his face flushed with embarrassment and his eyes flitted around the scene never making contact with anything.

The sight of him forced Mac back from the blissful place she'd been inhabiting to an unwanted reality. She screamed with shock. Dick halted instantly at her outburst and turned his head to spy the intruder.

"What the hell man?" he shouted quickly and Mac felt Dick move to shield her unravelling state from the man in question.

"Erm I'm really sorry Mr Casablancas but you're needed out front" the man said sounding like he wished he was anywhere but there. Mac heard Dick swear multiple times through gritted teeth at the worlds worst-timed interruption ever.

"Ok, ok, I'll be there in a minute" Dick answered, but Mac had to wonder if he would need longer than a minute. She guessed there were parts of his body that would definitely need longer before he was fit to be seen.

As the man disappeared Mac felt Dick carefully move away helping her stand back on the floor. She saw his hands hover nervously in front of her wondering if he should help button up that blouse. She had it covered. He bent down to grab his jacket giving it a little shake before pulling it back on.

Neither of them spoke. They were in shock. Mac had only wanted to talk and they had ended up almost… Oh God!

"Good Talk" she said, the only words that came to mind.

Mac had lost the ability to think straight and just simply walked away from him.

* * *

The ballroom was at near capacity. Finding Veronica was hard. Mac pushed through the crowds scanning faces for her best friend. She suddenly felt claustrophobic and was sure she would burst into tears if she didn't find Veronica soon.

Coming level with the bar Mac caught sight of the blonde and pushed her way towards her.

"Hey Mac, you've got to try one of these" Veronica said cheerfully holding out a shot glass of clear liquid. Mac snatched the glass and swallowed down the booze with one gulp. She turned towards the bar and demanded another.

"Hey, are you ok?" Veronica asked noticing a flush to her friends face.

"Fine" she answered swallowing down another shot.

But Mac was far from fine. She had just almost had sex with Dick Casablanca's in the lobby of a hotel. How had that happened? That was not the sort of person she was. In truth Mac had never done anything like that, she hadn't even had sex in a car, and who hadn't done that?

"I would like to go home now, it's getting a bit crowded in here" she added and Veronica narrowed her eyes, wondering whether something else was going on.

There was no time to answer as the crowd seemed to become animated. A wave of noise slowly picked up and looking through the gap Mac could see Dick stepping on to a raised stage at the far end of the room.

Veronica and Mac looked at each other baffled to what was going on. The plan to go home was going to have to wait a few more minutes.

"Sorry I'm late dudes" Dick said over a microphone and the crowd laughed for a moment.

"Just wanted to thank you all for buying these extortionately priced tickets. The proceeds as you know go straight to the Neptune Young Carers society".

Once again Veronica and Mac looked at each other in stunned silence. NYC Ball was for Neptune Young Carers? It was looking like this was a charity event, some kind of benefit. But what did Dick have to do with it? Surely he hadn't arranged it. The pair looked back as he continued to speak. Both girls threw back more shots slowly coming to terms with the idea that this could be Dick's doing.

He spoke briefly about the group of young carers and the hardships they faced. How they have a limited childhood because of their responsibilities to care for relatives who have no one else. They often missed out on beach parties and going on dates. Couldn't spend their weekends surfing or going to the movies.

Mac listened to every word. He made for a terrible public speaker. There were far too many 'dudes' and 'whatevers' in the speech. It sounded a lot like Bill and Ted trying to recite Shakespeare. She half expected him to finish with the phrase 'Be Excellent to each other'.

But what did come through as he talked, was that he had spoken from the heart. Dick Casablancas actually sounded like this cause meant the world to him. It made Mac look at him a little differently. She was touched by what he had to say.

As he continued to tell the rich folk in the room how their money would be spent, Veronica turned to her friend.

"I thought I had seen it all, but this takes the cake" she said, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"I'm sorry Mac, I'm not going home yet, I need to stay and see what else is going to happen".

Mac looked back at the stage, seeing the man who still had a blush to his cheeks from their earlier moment. She had approached him in the beginning to get closure on her feelings. Mac wanted him to say that night at the Neptune Grand meant nothing to him, that they made out simply because she was there and he would have done the same had it have been any other girl.

But instead she still had all her questions unanswered and a whole load of new ones to join them. She was sure now he remembered the night at the Grand a little too well to be indifferent and then there was the whole charity work thing that needed to be explained.

The damn little bird of hope just started to sing louder. She was seriously in trouble of losing her heart again.

Mac swallowed down the last shot and left the party before she did something else stupid.


	9. Chapter 9

**Present Day**

Veronica sat behind the desk at Mars Investigations. Her head was face down on the table top. She had rested it there a little while earlier and didn't have the strength to lift it back up.

It turned out the NYC Ball flyer hadn't lied. She had quite possibly been to the best party of the year and now she was paying for it. Just raising an eyebrow shot pain through her head. Veronica had been very, very drunk. Something that didn't happen often. The loss of control that excess alcohol brought would generally bring back memories of the times she had been drugged in her younger years. It was not a feeling that she cared to revisit.

Tipping her head a little to the right Veronica could see a cup of coffee that might help start to bring her around. Now she just needed to work out how to get the liquid to her lips without actually moving her head.

She should be laid up in her cosy bed making the most of the early morning hours before heading into work but she hadn't made it home after the party. There were two reasons why.

Firstly Keith still saw her as his little girl. Veronica hadn't forgotten his freak-out when he saw Piz emerging from her bedroom way back when she came back to Neptune. She really didn't want to turn up in a state that may bring back memories of the night Logan carried her home after she was drugged and attacked in Hearst's parking lot.

Secondly in a stupid drunken moment during the party Veronica thought she needed to check that the Sheriff's department was dealing with Eddie Mayers and hadn't just let the Halimede's manager go. She didn't trust Lamb as far as she really, really wanted to throw him. He was making his younger brother look competent.

It was her good fortune that Norris Clayton an old school acquaintance was on the front desk. She had discovered during a big case that the once suspected school bomber was now a member of the Sheriff Department. He had stopped her getting any further into the building and into the Sheriff's line of sight. If Lamb had caught her there it would have probably made his day to lock her up in the cells overnight.

Norris gave the information she needed, Mayers was in the interview room being interrogated and was being properly delt with. After that the office seen like the best place to rest the night away.

As Veronica stared helplessly at the coffee which had more than certainly gone cold she heard the office door swing open and closed. Dread filled her for a moment, she prayed it wasn't a potential new client. She didn't think she had the strength to pull off 'professional' but they certainly couldn't afford to turn away work.

When she smelt hot coffee drift towards her Veronica found her head rising, following the scent like a cartoon character follows the drifting wavy lines of an aroma. A dreamy smile grew appeared on her face at the wonderful smell. Unfortunately, attached to the coffee cup was Dick Casablancas, the main reason she was feeling so rough in the first place.

"Ugh it's you" she said the smile dropping as quickly as it had appeared.

Dick took a sip of his coffee watching Veronica eye it like it was the holy grail making him reluctantly hand it over.

"How the hell do you look so fresh and well rested?" she questioned, reaching for the cup of salvation he passed across the desk.

"Years and years of practice." he smugly replied staring at her less than attractive state.

"Plus I stayed away from the Romanian liquor you were clearly so fond of" he added.

She huffed then set about sipping at the hot liquid. Her eyes closed at the heavenly taste. He may be a waste of space but he could sure find a good cup of coffee. She seem to perk up pretty fast.

"I'm busy Dick what is it you want?"

"Yeah I can see your totally snowed under with work" he replied spying some drool on the desk where she had been resting.

"How did you manage to do all that last night?" she asked referring to the amazing party.

Everything had been top notch, from the dancing to the music, the entertainment and the alcohol. At one point she remembered the bar staff trying to do a 'coyote ugly' on the bar. It didn't have the same effect when one of the bar dancers was a 40 year old nerd called Nigel. But it didn't matter because everyone was having such a good time.

"Spending four years in a fraternity kind of gives you a few ideas on how to throw a good party" he replied to Veronica's question whilst rubbing his forehead, frustration growing at the pointless small talk.

He had gone over to see Veronica for one reason and it was time to get to the point.

"I need to contact Mac, can you give me her number?". He asked trying to sound casual when he felt anything but.

Dick had spent the last 12 hours with only one thing on his mind and that was Cindy Mackenzie. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the image of her pressed up against him, her hands exploring his chest. He had almost crashed the car on the way over to the office when the words 'please don't stop' flitted through his head.

He had tried to find her again at the party but she was nowhere to be found. He tried to get information out of Veronica but from the amount she was drinking she turned out to be as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Dick just needed to know if Mac was okay. Their little tryst had been seriously intense and come out of nowhere. He had been thinking about her the whole day of the party, ever since seeing that Bear t-shirt in the back of Logan's car that Veronica had been driving. Now all he could think about was that kiss and how he'd been waiting to taste the source of his favourite smile since the eighth grade. Holy hell it did not disappoint.

He felt his temperature rising again and realised Veronica had been staring at him. She had asked him a question and he had yet to answer.

"I said, what do you need Mac's number for?"

"I er.. started talking to her last night and we still have some unfinished business" Dick replied, a blush crept into his cheeks as he spoke those words

"What kind of business?" Veronica asked

"The kind of business that is none of yours. Jeez Ronnie I didn't realise you'd been hired to interrogate me" he said with a little irritation to his tone.

Veronica slowly sat back and stepped away from being on the offensive.

"I'm sorry Dick but I can't give you her number. I'm not in the business of just handing over my friends contact details without their permission"

Dick looked away for a moment trying to hide his disappointment. He had expected her to say no but still held on to a little hope that she would actually come through for him. For a moment his eyes fell on the wall calendar pinned to the bulletin board. Consecutive days had been crossed through and it was obvious the reason. It was a Logan countdown chart. 180 days down to nothing. He checked the date on his watch.

"Wow, didn't take long before you started forgetting our boy" Dick said causing Veronica to look round and notice she hadn't crossed out the last two days.

She flicked the months over spying the day that Logan would be home. People say time flies, well that damn calendar was trying to prove them all wrong. She grabbed a pen off her desk and stood up to cross the dates out.

Dick got to his feet while she went to work on the calendar, there was no point sticking around if she wouldn't help him contact Mac. He stepped over to the door.

"Will you at least ask her to ring me?" he asked as a last option. Veronica nodded her head agreeing to pass the message on.

He turned to walk away but heard Veronica call him back. She was sat at the desk opening the drawer down by her side. He stepped closer and she handed him a folded piece of paper. He took it from her, a little mystified what it could be. Unfolding it, Dick saw it was a check, made out to the Neptune Young Carers. It was a good chunk of money. He had spend more than that amount on a restaurant meal but he knew that it was a lot of money for someone like Veronica.

Dick looked down at her, absolutely stunned at her offering. His grateful gaze seem to shock Veronica and embarrassed her a little.

"Well I couldn't afford the face value for one of the party tickets but I wanted to do something to help. You did something really good last night" she said

Dick was silent for a good minute, his expression grew serious and it unnerved Veronica slightly.

"I need you to know, I'm sorry, really really so very sorry" Dick said.

He had shifted well and truly off topic but Veronica didn't need to ask what he was sorry for. She read it all in his eyes. It was a long awaited apology, one that she never really expected to hear. It was an apology for the part he played in the Shelley Pomroy party affair.

The whole thing was such a long time ago but Veronica still managed to find tears forming in her eyes. She had gone through so much in her life it seemed silly that it should still effect her. Maybe it was because that was the end of her innocence.

She still couldn't quite bring herself to say 'thank you' for the apology and instead managed a nod in gratitude for his confession.

"This doesn't make us friends you know" she managed to get out. It was a comment that was supposed to lighten the mood but Dick didn't smile.

"I don't care if you hate me Veronica, just don't hate me for that, not anymore. It's already going to haunt me in to the afterlife, so please don't hate me for that".

He folded up the check and placed it in his jacket pocket turned and walked out of the office. He had hoped that the confession would lift a weight from him but it hadn't. The truth hadn't changed. He had led his little brother to where Veronica was passed out and there was nothing he could do to alter that fact. God he wished Mac was there, just staring into her big beautiful eyes would bring him back to a better place.

He prayed she would call him soon.

* * *

It had been four days and Dick had officially entered stalking territory. No phone call, no text, no email, no house call, no nothing. The lack of contact had made him park outside Kane software for hours waiting for her to appear only to eventually be told by someone they didn't think she worked there anymore.

That had led him to do multiple drive-by's passed her parents house hoping she would be visiting them at some point. He soon came to realised he hardly knew anything about the girl he had been dreaming about for a good decade and a half. Dick had no idea where she lived, where she now worked, what car she drove, her phone number, it was all incredibly frustrating.

When he couldn't take it anymore he reluctantly headed back to see Veronica. The repeat visit would surely get that inquisitive mind of hers working overtime but he was getting desperate now and had no other leads.

He walked into Mars Investigations to find the front desk empty, stepping over to the side office Dick bumped straight into Keith Mars.

"Whoa, sorry Mr Mars I was just looking for Ver…." he stopped mid sentence as Mac appeared from behind him, carrying a box of files. She halted, her eyes expanding with shock at seeing him there.

"I'm sorry, but Veronica's not around at the moment do you…" Keith started and soon stopped , realising that he had become invisible in the room. Dick's eyes were on Mac like glue as she walked over to the reception desk. She looked all business like in dark tailored trousers and a shimmering blouse and she went about unpacking the box, lifting out files and sorting them on the desk top.

Dick looked back to Keith realising the PI had walked back into his office leaving them to it and walked up to Mac.

"Hey, did you get the message asking to ring me?" Dick asked politely

He watched her as she tried to avoid eye contact with him hiding behind her long sweeping bangs. Her short hair just seemed to emphasise that perfect neck and just made him want to leap over the desk and kiss that place that made her go crazy. He was getting hot just thinking about it.

"Yeah, I got the message but I've been really busy and not had a chance to call you back" she eventually replied, then let out a big sigh and looked up at him.

"What is it that you want?" she said as though nothing had happened between them. Her dismissal made his heart hurt a little but he couldn't walk away without at least talking about what happened at the party.

"I wanted to check you were okay after the other night" he said trying to keep the conversation as vague as possible knowing that Mr Mars was next door.

Mac had picked up a heavy-duty stapler off the desk passing it back and forth between her hands.

"I'm fine Dick, it was just an 'in the moment thing'." she replied. Dick had to wonder if she really was fine or it was one of those things women tend to say when they were anything but.

"Do you think we could go and have a talk for a while" he asked still not wanting to give up quite yet.

"No, I'm working, I can't just walk out whenever I want" she said gripping the stapler even harder in her hand.

Keith walked into the room sensing some tension.

"Hey Mac, are you ok? You seemed to be wielding that stapler pretty aggressively" he observed

"It's ok Mr Mars, she has the right to ARM BEARS". Dick quickly announced.

The play on words was lost on Keith but not on Mac. The colour seemed to drain from her face and he was sure she was asking herself how he knew she still had that t-shirt. She looked up at him again this time her eyes showed embarrassment instead of annoyance. She turned to face Keith.

"Would it be possible to go for an early lunch break?" she asked

Keith nodded, clueless to what was going on, and waved her on her way. She looked back towards Dick and conceded to his request.

"Fine, lets go and talk".


	10. Chapter 10 Final Chapter

**I just wanted to once again thank everyone who had taken the time to read and review this story. I have really enjoyed writing it. I feel honoured at the lovely comments I have received and welcome more if you have the time. **

* * *

**Last Chapter - Present Day**.

The pair had managed to walk for about five minutes away from Mars Investigations before Dick had reached out for her hand and pulled her into a kiss. Mac felt powerless to stop him. She didn't _want _to stop him.

His embrace was slow and gentle and he seemed to be savouring the experience in order to commit it to memory. It took Mac's breath away. She wanted to stay like that forever. But he eventually pulled away in order to speak to her.

"So are you like Veronica's receptionist now?" he asked and Mac pulled her face. Why did everyone assume she was the receptionist at Mars Investigations. She was one of the least customer friendly people she knew.

"You seriously think working for a PI is the best use of your skills Mac?. You're so much better than that" He said 'PI' like it was some kind of dirty word.

"First of all I'm not the receptionist I am the researcher, the tech support, and secondly my fancy skills and college degree got me a swanky job at Kane Software and it was boring as hell. At least with Veronica I get to try some 'diverse' work". she said. Diverse actually meaning slightly illegal.

Mac wondered why Dick was suddenly so concerned with where she was working.

"And what part of being undercover in a caterers uniform is tech support? Do you know what that sleazy manager tried to do to Veronica? That could have been you" he argued thinking back to the night at The Halimede.

Mac was taken aback by his argument. Maybe wasn't bothered so much about were she was working but more about her safety.

"That was just a one-off Dick. I'll be mostly behind a desk back at the office" she assured him.

Dick's hand reached up to her neck, his fingers filtering through her short hair and he pulled her to him again. Mac rose to her tip toes in order to get closer to him. Whenever he touched her she reacted, this was something more than just attraction. She could feel a real connection between them, but right now they needed to talk, not make out in the middle of the street. With a jolt of willpower Mac pushed herself away from him.

"Why did you never call me after Veronica left for Stanford?" she said fast and painful, just like ripping off a band-aid.

"What?" Dick asked still slightly dazed from the taste of her lips.

"The night at the Neptune Grand, I thought it meant something. Why did you never contact me" she asked again

Dick stood back then, his brow furrowed as he processed her question.

"Please don't tell me the reason you haven't called me back was payback for something I did a decade ago" he cried

"No!…. well maybe just a little bit" Mac admitted and saw annoyance register in Dick's face.

"Jeez Mac, I spent the last four days going crazy thinking I had done something wrong, I thought I pushed you into it at the hotel, I thought I'd upset you". His words a little louder than before.

"Yeah, well add another 9 years to that 4 days and maybe you'll have some idea of how I feel". she quietly submitted.

She saw Dick's pained expression, and wondered if he was starting to realise the effects his inactions that night have had on her.

"Was I just supposed to be another quick lay that didn't even get that far?" she asked but quickly realised from the hurt look in his eyes that wasn't the case.

"Maybe you were ashamed to admit you liked me to your friends. I hardly fit in to the tan line and fake boob groupies that populate your world". she snarled

"You can't throw that one at me when you haven't exactly gone running off telling Ronnie and Wallace all about _me_" he argued back and Mac looked away sheepishly from her hypocritical comment

"So just tell me why? Why didn't you call me?" she said hearing an almost begging tone to her words.

Dick leaned back against the car bringing his hands to his face, hiding his eyes for what seemed like the longest time. It looked like he was desperately trying to find an excuse not to come clean but in the end he could only find the truth on his lips. He looked at her and took a deep breath

"You remember that dude you used to date? The really nerdy one with the glasses?" he eventually said

"Max!" she confirmed then raced to a conclusion.

"You didn't contact me because you felt guilty that I had a boyfriend?" she asked, then heard Dick nearly choke at the absurdity of her surmise.

"God No!" he quickly announced.

"Half the girls I slept with had boyfriends, Hell some of them even had husbands, that was sooo not something I was bothered about". Dick said.

Mac rolled her eyes at his lack of morality, while he tried to get back to his point.

"You dumped that Max kid, because he decided to jack in his studying and just slack off for a while" Dick implied and Mac nodded to confirm that yes, it had been the reason they broke up.

"So why would you think it was a good idea to start seeing me, who made an art form from slacking off. Max was a pretty smart kid, at some point he was going to get back in the game and earn his college degree. I didn't have his intelligence to fall back on somewhere down the line Mac. I was pretty much, what you saw, is all you got".

Mac was a little annoyed that he took this decision upon himself.

"Didn't I get to have a say in any of this. Didn't I get the chance to decide who I wanted to date?" she argued back.

"Maybe, but who was gonna get left with a broken heart when you quickly realised the mistake you'd made?" he replied almost as a mumble.

They had never gotten the chance to talk about their feelings for each other. She knew that for her, Dick was lodged deep in her heart. If he hadn't been then she could have just walked away all those years ago and never given it a second thought.

It was only now from hearing him talk that she starting to realise just how much she meant to him. He really did like her. That bird of hope was back perching happily on her soul.

All this talk had been of the past. But life have moved on, they were adults now, living their own lives, making their own decisions. Mac looked at the man next to her and plucked up the courage to ask him out.

"So how about now, what's stopping us from trying now?" she blurted out, a lump forming in her throat from nerves.

Dick leaned down and kissed her again, his lips pressed hard against hers but barely moved. She felt a chill in her stomach when she realised that it felt like a farewell kiss.

"You have no idea how much I like you Mac, but nothing's changed. I'm still a slacker. I really don't have it in me to make something of myself. I'm kind of happy just being who I am" he conceded and saw confusion in Mac's expression.

She couldn't quite understand why he was saying he would never make something of himself. He already had. After the charity event at The Halimede Mac had done a bit of digging and discovered he did that kind of thing two or three times a year, helping different organisations each time. He was a regular philanthropist . He organised everything and paid for the parties himself.

She tried to argue her case that he was doing great things but he couldn't seem to hear what she was saying.

"I'm not doing anything great Mac, All I do for those charities is throw a party, I been doing that for years, it really isn't a stretch. And the deaf kids at the beach, I'm down there already on my board so I just give them a few tips on how not to kill themselves. It's no big deal".

"I am as I have always been Mac, only good at drinking, surfing and partying".

Mac's mouth dropped open, he really, really couldn't see the good he was doing. She wanted to argue more but the words wouldn't come, and she knew what it meant for them.

"So are you honestly saying that even though you really like me, there's no future for us?" she asked praying that she had it all wrong.

Dick took hold of her hand for a moment letting his fingers thread through hers. He studied her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles before lifting his eyes to meet hers.

"I'm saying I can't stop you throwing your life away working at that PI firm but I can make sure you don't throw your life away on me". he said absolutely resolute.

He slowly untangled his fingers from her and when the last contact was gone Mac felt utterly bereft. She felt tears start to well in her eyes but she wasn't about to let him see and she quickly turned away from him.

"I'll see you around then" she managed to get out of her mouth without crying and then quickly walked back towards work, leaving him there in the street. Mac thought she heard him call her name, but what was the point in turning back when he didn't want to be with her.

* * *

Veronica was in her bedroom, lap top open on top of the bed sheets and she sat cross-legged in eager anticipation of her latest Skype with Logan. She found her self happily staring into a blank screen just waiting.

The front door opened and shut loudly and within a few moments Keith had stuck his head around her bedroom door.

"Hey sweetie, can I ask you a quick question? He asked looking pensive while waiting on her reply. Veronica scanned her watch, she didn't want to interrupt her 'Logan' time but saw there was still a few minutes to waste so nodded her head.

"Is there something going on between Mac and the Casablancas kid?" he asked and Veronica nearly burst out laughing at the idea

"I highly doubt it, you couldn't get two people more opposite, Why do you ask?"

"Well, he came by the office today and there was definitely an atmosphere in the room and he had that look" Keith replied and then stepped away from the door while making space to remove his jacket and shoes.

"What look?" Veronica asked genuinely clueless to what he meant.

Keith stopped changing for a minute and stuck his head back around the door.

"You know, the look Logan gets when he looks at you" he answered making it clear to Veronica there was no mistaking what he had witnessed back at the office.

Veronica's mind began to work overtime, the little detective cogs clanking around her head trying to find clues that would confirm her dad's suspicions.

The computer screen in front of her came to life revealing the face of her 2nd favourite man and she pushed the Mac thing temporarily to the back of her mind.

Veronica felt tears forming at the sight of Logan on screen, she never realised just how much she missed him until she saw his face. They exchanged usual witty banter, made some comment to make her heart melt but even with broken feed and delays Logan could tell something was bothering her.

"What's going on?" he asked

"I'm really sorry Logan, my dad just gave me some weird information." Logan played along and asked her about it.

"Dad said he thought something might be going on between Mac and Dick." Even saying it out loud sounded wrong, but Logan didn't seemed shocked at all.

"Ahh Dick's secret crush, he's had a thing for Mac since like forever." Logan announced as though it wasn't giant news

"What, how did I not know that?" Veronica replied more to herself than to anyone else

"Well sweetie, I do believe that's why they call it a 'secret' crush"

"How long is forever?" she asked starting to make an evidence map in her head

"I'm not sure, but I know the reason he was always late for physics was because he took the long route past the IT suite just in hope of getting a quick glimpse of her"

Veronica's mouth fell open and the new revelations.

"Oh and I interrupted them making out once" he added thinking back to the night at the penthouse.

A shudder went down her spine at the thought of her good friend, the bright intelligent girl getting it on with the big blonde dud. She remembered the time in high school when Dick decided to stick a firework in his ass cheeks and set light to it. How could Mac be tempted by that?

She shook the images from her head. This time was supposed to be hers and Logan's and she wanted nothing more that to concentrate on just spending that short time with him.

* * *

After a week in the office with Mac, Veronica couldn't take it anymore. Her friend was acting differently, something was bothering her but she seem reluctant to admit it and instead had taken up snarling at people and just generally being a bit of a bitch.

The petite blond sat down in front of Mac and demanded she told her what was going on. Veronica suspected it had something to do with Dick but didn't feel it was her place to ask. In truth Veronica thought that if she didn't ask about it that it couldn't be true.

For a good few minutes Mac tried to deny something was wrong, but Veronica continued to press for information. In the end Mac gave in

"I made out with Dick Cassablancas" she said and Veronica tried not to react to the news but ended up blinking uncontrollably.

"Ok" was all Veronica could manage to say

"It was the night we were at the Halimede…..oh and also once a few years ago" Mac said

"Ok" Veronica said again not quite understanding why this had put her in such a bad mood recently.

"Did he hurt you or something Mac, because I have Mr Sparky all charged up and ready to go…" Veronica offered

"No..No" Mac laughed a little at Veronica's loyalty or maybe it was just an excuse to cause Dick pain.

"I just feel stupid. We had a talk and he told me he doesn't want to be with me, but I had already kind of fallen in love with him, so it's just going to take a bit of time to get over" Mac couldn't bring herself to look at Veronica who she was sure would be disappointed in her.

Veronica stood up and walked around to where Mac was sat. Her stomach flipped with that familiar feeling of heartache. She knew it all too well. She wrapped her arms around her friend and just gave her a hug.

* * *

Veronica Mars had never really been very good at keeping out of other people's business, so that's why she found herself outside Dick's beach house at one in the morning hammering her fist against the glass door waiting for him to answer.

After speaking to Mac earlier in the day, Veronica had been trying to piece it all together. Why would Dick push Mac away after Logan had said that he'd had a crush on her for years? Also her Dad had confirmed that Dick had the look of love when he saw him in the office and the fact that Dick had made out with her twice. Dick didn't generally do repeat business.

With all this information Veronica decided she couldn't wait till morning, the guy needed interrogating straight away.

Eventually after pounding on the door for what seemed like forever, a sleepy looking surfer dude shuffled into sight and opened up.

"What the hell do you want Veronica?" he angrily asked

She stepped across the threshold walking passed him into the house.

"You and me are going to have a chat about Cindy Mackenzie" she said

Dick automatically started to move his hands protectively over his groin area whilst staring down at the very angry looking pee wee PI. He was suddenly very awake.

They stood in the kitchen with the counter as a barrier between them.

"How could you not want to be with someone who is as cool and awesome as Mac?" Veronica asked not quite believing she was trying to encourage this guy to actually date her friend.

"I wouldn't exactly say I don't want to be…." he was cut off

"How when you've liked someone for years can you push them away?"

How do you know how long?… Oh wait, Logan told you? That boy seriously needs to re-read the bro code. Dick said with irritation

Veronica interrogated him for a while longer, her questions constant like a yapping terrier. In the end Dick just exploded

"I pushed her away because I don't want to get hurt" he yelled out into the air.

Veronica stilled at the sudden outburst and waited for him to elaborate.

"I don't have the strength Logan has". Veronica wasn't quite sure what her boyfriend had to do with anything but she stayed quiet.

"Logan amazes me how he's managed to cope with all the crap that has been thrown his way over the years. Lily, his parents, being accused of murder, twice. But he just picks himself up and keeps going. That takes such strength"

He paused to look at Veronica to make sure she was paying attention

"So when I see that same guy, totally crushed after breaking up with you, I know that pain must be off the chart".

He walked closer to Veronica trying to stress the importance of what he was trying to say.

"When Mac inevitably dumps me, I don't have Logan's strength to get through it. It would ruin me. And ruined by definition can't be repaired.

Crap! Veronica thought, that was some deep thinking for such an uncomplicated dude. How did he keep managing to make it hard for her to hate him at the moment, but she knew exactly where he was coming from with his emotion. Hadn't she done the same thing by running away to Stanford? Denying the love she felt in order to save herself from greater heartache further down the line.

"Why do you think Logan and me are back together if the heartbreak was so bad?" She rhetorically asked

"It's because being together is so amazing that it's worth the risk Dick. You have never been the guy who denies himself. You have always said whatever you want and went after anything you like. It's been one of your least attractive qualities so why stop now. If you don't want to experience the heartache down the line then you will just had to make the effort to not screw it up".

Dick sat back against the counter and thought hard about what Veronica had said. She had almost made the whole thing sound like a challenge and Dick never backed away from a dare.

He nodded starting to feel revved up from Veronica's pep talk. The bottom line was, he was in love with Cindy Mackenzie and it was becoming harder and harder to be away from her.

"Ok. I'll beg her for a second chance, but I need you to get something that belongs to me first"

* * *

It had been the longest seven days of his life. Dick stood in his house surrounded by party goers swallowing down gulp full's of beer just praying that Veronica could manage to persuade Mac to come to his party.

It was a week ago since he had the night-time chat with Veronica and decided to win Mac back. This party would be his opportunity. Everyone he knew was at the house, all the old 09ers plus his new friends. It was a bikini party and the grill was being lit in the deck outside. It was pretty much everything Mac was going to hate but that was the point, if he did manage to get her to consider going out with him, he needed to be sure she knew what she was getting into. This, all around him was his life.

Taking another beer from the fridge he heard someone else arrive through the door and prayed it was her. His heart leaped a little when he saw that it was indeed her together with Ronnie.

She wore a t-shirt that hung over one shoulder and some shorts. Mac had twice as many clothes on as anyone else at the party but she was still way more sexy than any other girl in the room.

The pair walked past him further into the house and he watched Veronica tell her something and then the couple split up heading in different directions. Dick kept his distance but tracked her with his eyes all across the house. Veronica caught up with him for a few minutes.

"Right, it wasn't easy to get her here but she thinks we are on a case. I told her to go and mingle and listen out for anyone talking about the 'Superbowl party' . I told her it was a code word for a possible smuggling ring" she said smiling at her own deviousness.

"Hey" Veronica grabbed hold of Dick before he had time to go off and talk to Mac

"You remember the day I ran the car over your surf board" Dick nodded, how could he forget it. The board was brand new and totally awesome.

"Well if you hurt Mac again, I'll do the same to your legs" Veronica promised

Dick nodded that he understood but really didn't need the threat. He was very aware of the lengths Veronica would go to in order to protect her friends.

He found Mac milling around by the kitchen and went over to her. It felt just like that night at the reunion. Nerves were building in his stomach and he had no idea what to say to her.

"Hey, do you ever feel like we are living that movie Final Destination?" he said causing them to quickly glance around the room at their dwindling school friends.

How many had died over the years starting with Lily Kane. Gia Goodman being the latest to be missing from the group. There was a moment when they looked at each other and once again their minds fell on Cassidy.

Crap, Dick thought, he was right back to his smooth moves.

"Look, I'm a little bit busy Dick so I'll have to get going" Mac tried to say but Dick held on to her arm stopping her from leaving him.

His head had given up on thinking of convincing arguments to give him a second chance, he was desperate and just went straight to begging.

"I'm so sorry that I pushed you away Mac. I was just so scared to take that step forward with you" he said and he felt her stop trying to pull away.

"I've had a crush on you since Mr Kennedy's study Hall" he felt his heart rise in this throat as he tried to get the next words out

"I've been in love with you since the night you dragged me out of the gutter behind the Neptune Grand"

That had got her undivided attention now, her eyes grew wide taking in the information.

"You…you like me even when I was dating Cassidy" Mac said shocked at his level of admiration for her. Then they both realised how long it had been since either had heard Beaver's name said out loud.

"It was hard for me to see you both together and I still hate him for the pain he caused you after what he did" Dick replied.

Mac reached up and brushed her hand across his cheek letting it fall and rest on his shoulder.

"You are an idiot for waiting so long to tell me how you felt" she said and Dick could tell from her warm expression that he had succeeded in getting his second chance.

He pointed around to the people in the room busily dancing and drinking and just being involved in their own lives.

"This is who I am Mac, are you sure you want to take this on?"

"Dick, I have known you for twenty years. If this was enough to put me off, I would have walked away a long time ago" she replied

Dick couldn't help but release a smile that filled his face.

"Hey so you told Veronica about us, does that mean you're not ashamed of me anymore" he asked moving slightly closer to her. Mac shrugged her shoulders looking around the room at all Dick's friends

"I don't know, are you ashamed of me?" she asked and he answered by roughly lifting her on to the kitchen counter, slamming his mouth against hers. God, how he had missed the taste of her lips. It was amazing.

The pretty graphic PDA had started to turn heads at the party and he heard Madison make some crude comment. Madison's reaction just seemed to spur Mac on for some reason and Dick gestured his feelings to his high school girlfriend by showing her his middle finger, any verbal retort was not worth detaching himself from the feel of Mac's lips.

He started to move his mouth across her jaw towards her neck then felt Mac strongly force him to stop.

"No, Don't do that, not here" she begged knowing her own strong reaction when Dick found that spot on her neck.

That was a problem easily solved. He lifted her down from the counter and walked her straight through the house to his bedroom. Once inside Dick locked the door and pushed a chair against it. The chair may have been excessive but he had his reasons. He pointed to it and explained

"I swear if we get interrupted again I'm going to kill the guy" he said and caused her to blush recalling the last two attempts they had.

"You know this is supposed to be a bikini party?" Dick said standing just a little in front of her eyeing the t-shirt and shorts.

"I know it is, I'm wearing one" she replied

"Show me" Dick demanded and Mac nervously pulled her top over her head and unbuttoning her shorts so they dropped to the floor, revealing an electric blue bikini. His eyes were glued to her form as she stood in front of him. Her chest heaved through anticipation and he knew she was waiting for him to say something.

"Something's just not right" he said as though the vision of her displeased him. He turned around and pulled something out of a drawer behind him and threw it over to Mac.

"Put that on" he ordered and Mac found herself pulling on a very threadbare t-shirt with the slogan 'I have the right to arm bears' written across it. It was so worn Dick could see her bikini underneath.

He owned that T-shirt and anything found inside it belonged to him.

"Mine!" he almost growled at her seeing her wearing his clothes and knowing that she'd been wearing it for years.

"How did you get this?" she asked looking puzzled. He shook his head refusing to reveal the information. It had been the favour he had asked Veronica for the week earlier.

"Does it look better on me than the bikini?" Mac asked shyly and when Dick nodded she did something that caused him to lose all control.

Mac pulled the string on her bikini top and bottoms letting them fall to the floor. Until she was just standing in the T-shirt, his shirt that was now touching every part of her body.

He almost dived on her, bringing Mac down to the bed and exploring underneath the shirt that held no more barriers.

Mac found a second to ask him a question

"How many girls have you kissed since the night at the Halimede?"

"It was a terrible question to ask at that moment in time but it made him think and he was shocked by his own discovery. He looked down at Mac who lay underneath him, her face flushed from their need to be together.

"None, you were my last kiss Mac" he replied and felt a wave of emotion pour through his body.

"Cindy Mackenzie, you are my last kiss girl" he told her then leaned down and set about showing her exactly what that meant.


End file.
